Rituals are symbolic activities that help us, together with our families and friends, express our deepest thoughts and feelings about life's most important events.

Baptism celebrates the birth of a child and that child's acceptance into the church family. Birthday parties honour the passing of another year in the life of someone we love. Weddings publicly affirm the private love shared by two people....
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The funeral ritual, too, is a public, traditional and symbolic means of expressing our beliefs, thoughts and feelings about the death of someone loved. Rich in history and rife with symbolism, the funeral ceremony helps us acknowledge the reality of the death.
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When we experience the death of someone we love, a funeral service fills several important needs. First, it provides for the dignified and respectful care of the person and special tribute to their life, encourages the expression of grief in a way consistent with the culture's values, provides support to mourners, allows for the embracing of faith and beliefs about life and death, and offers continuity and hope for the living.

Equally important, the funeral service helps the people who are left behind face the reality of death, which is the first big step toward taking grief from the inside and allowing us to express it on the outside through mourning. Together, close friends and relatives can lend support and consolation when they’re needed most.

A funeral gives friends and relatives an opportunity to express the love and respect they feel for someone who was important to them. Often, just seeing how much others care can be a tremendous help to a family in adjusting to their loss.

I am deeply concerned that individuals, families and ultimately our society as a whole will suffer if we do not reinvest ourselves in having a funeral service or some type of acknowledged ceremony.

Respectfully quoted by William Ewart Gladstone, in which these words remain with me...

‘Show me the manner in which a nation cares for its dead and I will measure with mathematical exactness the tender mercies of its people, their respect for the laws of the land and their loyalty to high ideals.’