Social Distancing and Funerals

When planning funerals now at funeral homes in College Park, MD, one of things that you will have to take into consideration is social distancing. While most Americans seem to have a very difficult time figuring out how to measure six feet between them and other people, your funeral director will have all the social distancing protocols in place for the funeral of your loved one.

Social distancing, especially for funerals, can be very hard to deal with. Funerals, by their very nature, are designed to bring people close together so that the grieving family can get the comfort, support, and consolation they need as they deal with the death of their loved one.

Social distancing eliminates touch, which is an integral part of comfort, as well as intimate conversation (it’s hard to share special moments when you’re talking with someone who’s six feet away from you). Social distancing, which includes the wearing of face masks, also removes some of the contextual interaction that you glean from another person’s facial expressions.

There are also limitations for funeral homes as to how many people can be at a funeral in person. This means that many of the people who may want to attend the funeral of your loved one will not be able to.

Funerals homes, however, have adapted quickly to these limitations and now offer a variety of ways to have funeral services that fulfill the needs of the family for support and consolation and fulfill the needs of mourners to be present to pay their respects to the deceased and to participate in the service.

Some funeral homes, for example, are doing drive-by visitations. You and your family will line up at the entrance at the funeral home, and mourners who want to pay their respects to your loved one and offer their sympathy for you and your family “visit” with you in their car with the windows rolled down.

While you may not get the hugs and physical interaction that is traditional in a visitation, this is an excellent way for both you and your family to get the support you need from mourners who want to offer it to you.

There are many options that funeral homes have for funeral services. One is to offer live streaming services. People who want to attend your loved one’s funeral service can simply join the service virtually online.

Another option is to record the funeral service and make it available to you and your family to share with other mourners.

A third option is for you to host your own virtual funeral service using a streaming service like Zoom or Facebook video messaging. With this option, you can either hold the service at the funeral home or you can hold it in your own home, but people can join the service and even participate live in the service.

With this option, you can have people join the funeral service virtually to do readings, to give eulogies, and to play live music, which are all important components of a traditional funeral service.

Even though social distancing because of COVID-19 has drastically changed how traditional events, including funerals, are held, that doesn’t mean that you and your family can’t have the support and consolation you need and that you can’t have a meaningful funeral service for your loved one.

If you’d like to know more about planning funerals at funeral homes in College Park, MD, you can talk with our knowledgeable team at Donald V. Borgwardt Funeral Home, P.A.