Q. Is cremation dearer than burial?
A. Generally cremation is cheaper than burial at major cemetery/crematoria complexes. However, you should discuss the matter with a funeral director who will be able to advise you of the precise cost relevant to your particular locality.

Q. Are there any religious groups which forbid cremation to their members?
A. Yes, it is forbidden by Orthodox Jews and Moslems and some other religions. However, most Christian denominations, including Roman Catholics, allow cremation. It is the normal method of disposition of the dead for Sikhs, Hindus, Parsees and Buddhists.

Q. What religious ceremony can I have with cremation?
A. Services for burial and/or cremation are the same, apart from the form of committal. The service may take place in one's own church or funeral chapel with a short committal service at the crematorium, or the whole service may be conducted in the crematorium chapel. Alternatively, the whole service may be conducted elsewhere, with no service at the crematorium. You may arrange for your own clergyman to conduct he service at the crematorium. The form of service should be arranged with the clergyman and funeral director.

Q. Must there be any religious ceremony with cremation? Or burial?
A. No. A civil ceremony can be conducted or there may be none at all.

Q. What can happen to the cremated remains?
A. Some people request that their cremated remains be strewn or scattered. The appropriate arrangements may be made with the crematorium for this to be done. Each crematorium provides a variety of memorials.

Q. What happens at the crematorium on the day of the funeral?
A. The coffin is usually brought into the chapel and placed on the catafalque prior to the mourners entering and taking their seats. At the appropriate time during the service the coffin will be removed from view, by drawn curtains or either by being lowered or rotated through an opening in a wall. The method varies at each crematorium. At the end of the service the mourners leave the chapel and can inspect the floral arrangements before leaving.

Q. What happens to the coffin after the service?
A. It is withdrawn into a committal room where the nameplate of the coffin is checked with the cremation order to ensure correct identity. The coffin is then identified with a label giving all the relevant information. This identification stays with the coffin until the final disposal of the cremated remains.

Q. Does the cremation take place immediately, or are the coffins stored up until a number are ready to be cremated?
A. The cremation will follow as soon as possible after the service. Health Regulations now require that a cremation must take place no later than 24 hours after the funeral's arrival at the crematorium.

Q. Is the coffin cremated with the body?
A. Yes.

Q. Is more than one coffin cremated at one time in a cremator?
A. No. The only exceptions permitted to this rule are in the case of a mother and baby or twin children, when some crematoria may accept both in the same coffin if the next of kin requests that the two be cremated together.

Q. Can relatives witness the committal of the coffin to the cremator?
A. Yes. People are permitted to attend if they wish, however, advance notice is required and special arrangements as to timing may need to be made.

Q. Should our children attend the funeral?
A. This is a decision that must rest with the parents. Children suffer grief and should be encouraged to express their emotions. Given the opportunity to attend the funeral of someone they loved and cared about, Children will be allowed to sort out the finality of death in their own minds and deal with it accordingly. If a child expresses a definite wish to attend the funeral, that wish should not be discouraged.