After the loss of a loved one, those who survive may find themselves facing a wide range of decisions, such as: Where should my family member be buried – or scattered? What kind of music should we play at the service? Who will give the eulogy? Should we hold a traditional funeral or a celebration of life party? Who will assemble the pictures and memorabilia to display?
Sometimes, the deceased has left a plan of action. Just as often, the surviving friends and family are left to make these last decisions, hoping they get them right. With each decision, stress increases.
In this era of increased geographic and professional mobility, a new question has begun to crop up: “Why even hold a funeral or service at all,” ask many families, “especially if so many of our loved ones can’t participate?” This question reflects the reality that Americans now move and change jobs more than ever before – on average 11 times across a lifetime. Families and loved ones are often separated by greater distances, making it more difficult and expensive to get to a funeral. Not surprisingly, according to the National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA), the number of people attending funerals is in decline, as well as the number of funerals being held.
The problem is a serious one. Clergy and mental health professionals, as well as human experience, have shown that there’s nothing more important than acknowledging the loss of a loved one, coming to grips with a new reality, and saying a final goodbye. Funerals and memorials have existed for millenia for precisely these reasons. What happens to a family or a community when there is no social mechanism for coping with death and grief? A population of people who never achieve true healing.
The challenges of America’s changing demographics have led many people to search for a solution. We at TribuCast® believe we have it.
A TribuCast® provides a safe, secure and dignified way to share and attend a funeral or memorial service remotely.
A TribuCast® enables loved ones to attend the event almost as if they were really there – to hear the melody of the processional music, cry through the eulogy, and walk spiritually alongside the deceased’s loved ones and families, even from a thousand miles away.
A TribuCast® offers unique benefits as well. The highly personalized context portals™ that surround the live streaming portion of a TribuCast® enable families to add photos, poems, prayers, memorabilia and more – all of which support and enhance the remote attendee’s experience.
We know that families and loved one who try our service truly appreciate what a TribuCast® has to offer. Our clients regularly thank us, as well as the Funeral Directors who use TribuCast®, for creating a way to cope, grieve, honor and heal remotely.
Our data tell a similar story. For families who have used TribuCast®, overall service attendance has doubled in most cases. And, based on our own location analytics, the vast majority of these remote attendees don’t live in close proximity to the service location. That means TribuCast® isn’t expanding remote viewing by reducing in-person funeral attendance as some pundits predicted. Instead, TribuCast® is meeting the unmet needs of loved ones who want to be present for a funeral or memorial service, even when they can’t be there in person.
So make it happen, one last time. When the time comes to acknowledge the loss of a loved one, look to TribuCast® for help.