Ceremony

Honouring Lives Through Ceremonies
Crafted with Care and Compassion.

KORU Cremation | Burial | Ceremony can provide standard Memorial Services, Traditional Funeral Services and unique Celebration of Life Services.

When needed, we will work in collaboration with experienced Event Planners, particularly for creating a highly personalized and memorable ceremony service for your family. Whether it is an in-person gathering, a virtual service or a combination of the two, KORU can guide you through it all.

View our sample Memorial Packages, complete with catering and celebrant allowances.

There is no one “right” way to honour and mourn for the one who has died through ceremony.

You may find solace in a traditional funeral mass or a sorrowful graveside ritual that rekindles stories told to you by your grandmother. A heartfelt and even joyous celebration of life may resonate with you. You may be yearning for a thoughtful and unique ethical ceremony that creates connection and meaning, and supports you through the reality of death. You may need guidance in sifting through different ideas. Still, you may know precisely what you want but need assistance in making it happen.

Whatever your culture, circumstance or challenge, we’re here to help you care for, remember, mourn and celebrate your family members and friends.

We’re here to walk with you in experiencing the power of ceremony as well as in exploring the myriad emotions that invariably arise when someone dies: grief and guilt, love and loss, healing, grace and gratitude.

Ceremony Venues Around Vancouver and the Lower Mainland

KORU recognizes that for a ceremony to resonate with you, the venue or gathering place may be a significant consideration.

It is for this reason that KORU deliberately chose to not have an on-site funeral chapel (to which you likely have no connection). Instead, we can help you choose and plan a ceremony in a location that is special to you and your family. This may be in a garden, a park setting, a local brewery or your backyard. Whatever the choice, KORU can help you.

Here is a brief list of venues KORU recommends (there are many other possibilities, please contact us if you don’t see something that interests you)

Celebration Hall at Mt. View Cemetery, Vancouver
Great Hall at Centre for Peace, Vancouver
BMO Great Hall at VanDusen Gardens, Vancouver
Celebration Pavilion at Queen Elizabeth Park, Vancouver
UBC Boathouse, Richmond
The Chapel at Minoru Park, Richmond
North Shore Winter Club, North Vancouver
The Pipe Shop at the Shipyards, North Vancouver
Mollie Nye House, North Vancouver
Scandinavian Community Centre, Burnab

Pipe Shop Venue in North Vancouver

Grief Ritual Recipes

Sometimes we carry our grief really close to our hearts and it’s not unusual to get lost in it. These “Grief Ritual Recipes” are guides for you to do something uncomplicated but meaningful, alone or with others, one time or repeatedly, to help ease your heart. They were created by Lisa Hartley, Celebrant and gifted to KORU to share with our community.

Go out into the natural world

Find a beautiful place to sit, hopefully near the water, a stream, a lake, the ocean, a place of solitude and quiet.

Sit in silence.

If you feel moved, talk to the person who has died. If you wish, read them a letter, a poem, a story. You’re welcome to burn that letter into a small bowl, release it to the air.

When you’re done, take a deep breath and wash your hands and face in the water that is nearby, or just brush your hands off to finish the ceremony.

If it moves you, take a stone, a leaf, a flower, something to bring home in memory of this quiet time. Put it where you can see it and remember the peace it brought you.

Make a dinner in honour of the person you’re missing

Gather those who you can, and even if you’re on your own, make something special that they would love to eat with you.

It can be Kraft Dinner, or an elaborate dessert, something that brings you joy, and reminds you of them.

Set a place for them, and share stories about their life, as if they were there with you.

Light a candle, laugh, remember them well.

Build a sandbox with small treasures that belonged to them

Or that you shared together. You can put things that remind you of them.

Put a candle in the middle – light it when you feel moved.

Rearrange the objects and the sand as you feel moved. I put a small clay mug with scotch out for my dad every night after he died. You could use a favourite item of theirs, such as a toy car, crossword puzzle, pieces glass or stone, jewelry, or play a favourite song.

Let it be active and creative.O

Build a shrine

Find a place in your home where you can put photographs and objects that remind you of the honoree.

Place a candle in the area, and when you feel moved, light the candle sit with it, settle yourself, and think of the person who has died.

If it feels comfortable, talk to them, share your thoughts and your fears.

Let your thoughts settle,

Sit in silence and when you are done blow out the candle.

Light it anytime you miss them and want to honour them.

Quick Facts + Things to Know

Ceremonies can be led by a religious leader like a priest, rabbi, reverend, imam or minister
Ceremonies can be created and led by you, your family friend, your Aunt or by a person trained as a Celebrant or Officiant; a professional ceremony maker. KORU has recommended several trusted and very talented Life Celebrants in our Resource section
There are many words used to describe a “funeral service” but essentially they all represent the same thing, honouring the life of someone who has died and offering an outlet for family and friends to mourn together
All funeral homes, regardless of who owns them, can organize a burial at any cemetery, regardless of who owns the cemetery. In other words, if your cemetery of choice owns and operates a funeral home, you are not obligated to use their funeral home
Your ceremony, or service, may be one of, or a combination of these different types of ceremony: funeral service, wake, visitation, viewing, memorial service, celebration of life, graveside service, living tribute
Resurrected names for ceremonies in which family and friends are involved in a more hands-on way (like in the ‘olden days’), are family-led funeral, DIY funeral, home funeral
Celebrant and Death Doula services have been described as one of the fastest growing careers for people over 50. For more information, get to know our End of Life Doula partners visit Death Doula Network International or the Celebrant Institute & Foundation