Planning a funeral ceremony near Oakland can be daunting. Fortunately, funeral homes often offer a wide variety of services designed to streamline the process of planning a funeral, so you can focus on celebrating the life of your lost loved one.

Whether you are charged with arranging a funeral or just beginning funeral pre-planning for yourself, selecting what to read is extremely important. While most Catholic funerals involve Biblical passages and Jewish funerals offer readings from the Torah, individuals of other faiths are not always certain what to pick. If you are planning for yourself, be sure to pick something meaningful to you. Peruse your favorite authors and poets, or consider incorporating lyrics of a favorite song.

At Chapel of the Chimes Oakland, our experienced and attentive funeral services providers can meet all your funeral pre-planning needs. We also offer grief counseling services to the community, free of charge. Call us at (510) 654-0123 today.

Today, more and more people are calling funeral homes to secure information about how they can pre-plan their funerals. Planning ahead for a funeral is one of the best ways to ensure your wishes are exactly fulfilled when you pass on. Pre-planning can also save your surviving loved ones a great deal of stress and anxiety when you pass on. Keep reading for helpful pointers on how to pre-plan funeral services.

Important Choices
When you pre-plan a funeral, your first decision should be whether you prefer burial or cremation. In Jewish funerals, burial is required. However, many people of other faiths feel strongly about their final resting places. You have many options when it comes to cremation and burial. For example, it is important to select your urn and crematorium of choice. If you choose burial, you should pick a burial plot or resting spot in a mausoleum.

Personalized Touches
One of the biggest benefits of planning ahead is that it allows you to completely customize your funeral. Many people have special music that they would like to play, while others select particularly meaningful poems or readings. Another touch is to incorporate pictures of you with your loved ones.

Advanced Payment
When it comes to planning ahead for a funeral, almost everyone opts to pay for some or all of the products and services ahead of time. When you pay in advance, your loved ones will have much less of a financial burden. Rather than worrying about bills, they will be able to focus on celebrating your life knowing they honored your last wishes. When you do pay in advance for funeral services, make sure to secure detailed paperwork so you have a record. You may also want to look into funeral insurance to defray some of the cost.

Chapel of the Chimes Oakland is a full-service funeral home and one of the most beautiful historic sites in California. If you are interested in planning ahead, call our funeral home at (510) 654-0123 today. We are proud to offer Jewish funerals and Catholic funerals, and are here to help with funeral planning in Oakland.

Funeral pre-planning and funeral planning in Oakland often involve planning a graveside service. A graveside service involves many elements, which is why planning ahead is key.

When you map out a graveside service, the first thing to consider is what kind of cemetery you prefer. One key thing to think about is how much space the cemetery provides around the burial plot. You will want to make sure there is enough room for chairs for everyone who wants to attend the funeral services.

If you want to know more about funeral pre-planning service for yourself or you are planning funeral services for a departed loved one, contact Chapel of the Chimes Oakland . You can reach us at (510) 654-0123.

Grieving family and friends come together during a wake to remember a loved one, outside the formality of a funeral service. A wake is also known as a visitation service and is usually coupled with a separate funeral service.

Watch this video to learn how to plan for a wake so you allow family and friends the opportunity to pay their respects to a loved one, and to spend time together in grief. Wakes can be held in a number of locations, according to your family’s preferences and traditions. The site is commonly a family member’s home or the funeral home, although some families choose a location that was special to the deceased, such as a community center or gymnasium.

If you’re in need of advice from a funeral home in Oakland , please contact Chapel of the Chimes Oakland at (510) 654-0123. Our funeral home can provide compassionate guidance that helps your family to grieve and heal by making planning ahead easier.

When someone you care about passes away, you’ll need to choose a funeral home to assist you with the arrangements. As you plan a funeral, you may want to include readings during the service that had some importance or bearing on the deceased’s life. Watch this brief video to learn how to plan readings for a funeral.

In order to personalize a funeral service, you can ask friends and family members if the deceased had a favorite author or poet. If the deceased was a religious person, a verse from the bible or other spiritual text could make a good selection for a reading. Remember to keep the readings relatively brief so that everyone has a chance to pay their respects.

When you’re planning a funeral near Oakland, you can rely on Chapel of the Chimes Oakland to provide you with professional and courteous services. We are a full-service cemetery and funeral home and work directly with you. Call us at (510) 654-0123 or visit our website to learn more about what we do.

Whether you are making the end-of-life arrangements for a loved one or funeral pre-planning for yourself, there are a number of decisions you need to make. Many people choose cremation for a number of reasons, including religion, environmental causes, and simplifying the funeral process. Once you have made the decision to have remains cremated, there are many things to keep in mind about the process. Continue reading for an overview of what you should know about making arrangements for cremation.

Covering the Logistics
The first step to arrange a cremation is to meet with the funeral home and discuss your individual cremation plan . Be sure to bring all necessary details to this meeting, including Social Security information. The funeral home will help you arrange for transportation of the body. They will also assist in obtaining the official death certificate, writing the obituary, and gathering any other paperwork that is necessary. You will then sign the authorization allowing for the cremation.

Picking the Type of Cremation
Generally, there are three types of cremation services. There is a traditional cremation with a visitation ceremony; with this ceremony, loved ones are able to view the deceased in a casket prior to cremation. A ceremonial cremation offers a ceremony that is held following the cremation, and there is no viewing. For a non-ceremonial cremation, the deceased is cremated and the remains are given directly to a designated person.

Choosing Post-Cremation Options
After you make cremation arrangements, you will select a cremation urn, or some other container to hold the remains of the deceased. There are many options for what to do with the remains. Some individuals bury the ashes in a cemetery and select a grave marker. Some may scatter the ashes at a place that was important to the deceased. Others may choose to keep the ashes in an urn in their home.

When it comes to making arrangements for cremation in Oakland, Chapel of the Chimes is here to help. With on-site cremation services , we are able to provide detailed care in assisting with the entire process. To learn more, call (510) 654-0123.

A eulogy is a speech, usually given at a funeral, to memorialize a deceased loved one. The best eulogies are not based on how well they are written, but instead are heartfelt and capture the spirit of the deceased. When planning a funeral or memorial service, a funeral home director can help you determine who will deliver a eulogy during the service.

If you have been asked to deliver a eulogy, you should consider what type of tone you want the eulogy to have before writing it. Some people opt to be more serious, while others have a more lighthearted approach with a touch of humor. There is no right or wrong tone for a eulogy, but it is important that it is appropriate. You should take into consideration the audience for the eulogy when determining what is appropriate to say. Begin by introducing yourself and offer a few basics about the deceased. Tell specific stories about the deceased, but be sure to keep your eulogy brief and well-organized.

Chapel of the Chimes is able to offer assistance in all aspects of funeral planning in Oakland. Call us at (510) 654-0123 for more information on all the services we provide.

The time of bereavement can take a heavy toll on a family, especially when tasked with navigating through the process of figuring out all of the details of funeral arrangements. One way to ease the burden on a grieving family is funeral pre-planning in Oakland.

This video offers tips on making funeral pre-planning an easy process. The first step is to find a funeral director that can guide you through the process and help you make informed decisions about your arrangements.

When you are ready to begin planning ahead , Chapel of the Chimes offers a full range of services. To learn more, or to schedule a visit, call (510) 654-0123.

Being put to rest in a mausoleum is extremely desirable. If you and your family can afford a mausoleum burial, it is well worth the benefits it provides. If you are planning a burial with a funeral home in Oakland, a mausoleum burial is a wonderful option. Read on to learn more about this type of burial.

A mausoleum burial allows loved ones to visit the deceased in a private and beautiful space. If your loved one is placed in the ground, the memorial process takes place in a public area for family and friends. However, if the deceased is placed in a mausoleum, people can grieve as they need to—in their own way. A family mausoleum allows for the highest form of privacy and peace for the deceased and grieving. Whether you are a couple or a family of many, family mausoleums allow you to rest together in a dignified setting.

If you are considering funeral pre-planning or wish to learn more about a mausoleum burial , contact Chapel of the Chimes in Oakland at (510) 654-0123. We have been helping families plan burials for over 100 years and we look forward to helping you.

Thinking about one’s passing is never easy, and pre-planning a funeral can be difficult to think about, but doing so has many benefits for you and your loved ones. Not only will you ease the stressful planning and financial burden on your loved ones, but you will also get the funeral you want. If you are considering funeral pre-planning near Oakland , continue reading to learn more about the advantages of planning ahead of time.

Eased Burden for Your Loved Ones
Leaving your wishes left unknown when you pass can cause stress during an already trying time for your family and close friends. However, when you pre-plan a funeral, you can be sure that your family members know your wishes and that they will not need to worry about making guesses. When you plan your funeral ahead of time, you are really giving your loved ones and yourself a gift—the gift of peace of mind.

Eased Financial Burden for Your Family
When you choose to plan your funeral ahead of your passing, you are ensuring that a financial burden is not placed on your loved ones. Being prepared allows you to pay for your funeral arrangement beforehand so your family does not have to bear the financial weight. Funerals can be simple and inexpensive or lavish and cost a bit more. Whether you want a lavish or simple funeral, when you plan it before your passing, you will be able to pay for it yourself. If you choose not to pay for your funeral in advance, you may still be able to secure a low price for your final arrangements.

Finals Wishes Granted Correctly
Oftentimes, people already have some idea of how they wish to go out of this world. Pre-planning your funeral is a way to be sure your wishes come true. Working with a funeral director prior to your passing will allow you to make all of the decisions about how your life is remembered and celebrated.

If you want to take advantage of the benefits that pre-planning your funeral offers, contact Chapel of the Chimes in Oakland at (510) 654-0123. Our experienced staff can walk you through the pre-planning process so you can have the funeral you want, while easing the financial and emotional burden on your loved ones.