If you’re having memorial services after cremations in Beltsville, MD, there are many unique ways that you can honor the memory of your loved one. These allow mourners to gather, participate in personal ways, and give more insights into who the deceased was in life and what was important to them. Although many tend to get confused, there are differences between funerals and memorial services.

A themed memorial service focuses on one aspect of the deceased’s life that they were passionate about or it creates a symbol of their lives.

The first theme approach is centered on the deceased’s passion. That could be volunteering, music, art, sports, family, or anything else. The whole memorial service is fashioned to show the deceased’s relationship with what they cared about in life. For example, if the deceased was an avid reader (or a writer), then reading quotes from their favorite books, plays, or poem could be the theme of the memorial service. Different people could read different things, but everything that’s read should give insight into who the person, how they thought, and what was important to them.

The symbolic theme approach uses a phrase or symbols to capture the essence of who the person was or to say goodbye. For example, if the deceased was environmentally-conscious, a memorial service that includes fresh foods from local growers and producers (farm to table) and donations can be made to environmental causes or a tree can be planted in the deceased’s memory.

Familiar symbols of saying goodbye to a loved one include the dove and releasing balloons. You can create a theme around this by using bird images on the service program and include quotes about the flight to give the imagery of the soul taking flight in an elegant and respectful way.

If a themed memorial service doesn’t really work, there are other ways to create unique memorial services.

One way is to create a memory board where people can write down their favorite memories of the deceased. This is a great way to encourage people to share stories and it gives a lot of solace and comfort to the family. It will also highlight the impact of the deceased on the world around them. The family can keep this and pull it out for comfort when the sad times come during the grieving process.

Another way is to create a video with pictures, quotes, and music to play before or during the memorial service. It is a chronological view of the deceased’s life or it can be a random assortment of the best pictures of them. Include their favorite quotes. And ask music that was special to them or that is special to the family’s memories of them.

Some memorial services are about food. Specifically, everything eaten and drunk during the service is a favorite food of the deceased. These don’t have to be expensive or haute cuisine. Simply incorporate some of the things they liked into snacks or easy dishes. For example, if someone had tomatoes as their favorite food, all that would be needed for this food would be a loaf of bread, sliced tomatoes, and a jar of mayonnaise (with turkey and pork bacon and lettuce on the side).

And a final way to memorialize – this is not a service, but it’s related – a loved one is to plant a tree or adopt a bench in their honor.

If you’re interested in other unique memorial service ideas after cremations in Beltsville, MD, you can talk with our knowledgeable team at Donald V. Borgwardt Funeral Home, P.A. Our funeral home offers memorial services is located at 4400 Powder Mill Rd., Beltsville, MD, 20705, or you can call us today at (301) 937-1707.