Trust a lawyer to add to the tension between clergy and the funeral director.  

A Kentucky priest felt the need to re-establish the ground rules for funerals conducted in his parish, and a local funeral director took offense.   Claiming the rules were "an intentional and wrongful interference" with his business, the funeral director brought suit against the Archdiocese of Louisville.  

The lawsuit has the

Two recent newspaper articles help to underscore the distinct directions the funeral ritual seems headed.

The Kansas City Star reported on how more families are opting for personalization over formal funeral rituals.  As the article indicates, personalization often requires the funeral director to spend more time with the family planning a memorial that is

Cremation is having a profound impact on funeral homes, cemeteries and churches alike. While Christian denominations prefer to reinforce the role the body plays in funeral liturgy, cremation offers churches the opportunity to establish a bond with parishioners that cemeteries once provided. It is becoming fairly commonplace to read about churches, like the First Evangelical

The Iowa had not one, but two personal preference bills pending before its Legislature for the 2007/08 term: SF 473 and HF 2088.   The Senate version, SF 473, was backed by Iowa’s attorneys, and the House version, HF 2088, was backed by the Iowa Funeral Directors Association. 

What caught my attention about these bills