Three Ways To Be A Part Of A Memorial Service Whilst Living Overseas

When you move away from your home country to live somewhere else, there is one phone call every emigrant dreads, and that is the one which informs of a family death at home. Unfortunately, this situation does happen and getting on a plane to return to the home country is not always a convenient or affordable option. When the funeral service or cremation is over and the family holds a memorial service, there are still ways you can be a part of this grieving process without boarding an aeroplane. Here are three options to consider when you find yourself in this situation. 

Technology

Technological advances in long-distance visual and voice communication mean there is no reason why you cannot virtually speak at a memorial if you wish to do so. Using a program like Skype or Facebook Messenger allows you to call a person who is at the memorial service, and they can place you visually or vocally onto a tablet or phone device which the rest of the service attendees can hear and see. Using this technology you can read a poem, give a eulogy you have written or simply say a few words relating to the deceased. If you cannot find someone at the service to help you with this, then speak to the funeral company holding the memorial because many funeral companies use technology to allow those overseas to take part in all of their services. They likely have options available to you.

Help Of A Friend

The second option to be a part of a memorial service if you do not wish to use technology involves asking for help from a friend or family member. Once you have chosen a poem or written a eulogy, then ask someone else attending the memorial to read it on your behalf. If you have a photo of you and the deceased, you could arrange for this to be emailed to your helper and they could get the photo printed and framed to sit on the delivery lectern when they read your piece.

Mail Posting A Tribute

A third option for being part of a memorial service involves you preparing a visual tribute in your current country and then posting it to the funeral home or a friend for its inclusion in the memorial service. For example, you could use photo software to prepare a collage of memories which is then printed out and posted to your home country. This can be displayed at the memorial service for all attendees to see.

No matter where you are in the world, you can always be a part of a memorial if you wish to do so. Use these ideas as a starting point if you ever find yourself in a situation where you cannot return home after the death of a loved one.


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