Funeral & Memorial Planning
Rituals are a powerful way to bring comfort, meaning and structure in a time of loss and grief. Rituals also help to affirm cultural or religious identities, and bring people together in community and support. Whether rituals be religious, spiritual or secular, they help us say goodbye.
Whether you are planning in advance, or after a loss, we can help guide you through the planning for a vigil, funeral, or memorial, be it a more traditional ceremony, or one that’s more alternative and customizable.
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Leave the details to us! Whatever end-of-life rituals you’ve chosen, we can either connect you to a funeral home, contact your chosen faith community, or handle the arrangements ourselves - everything from booking a space, arranging flowers, catering, and music, communicating information to relatives and guests, publishing formal announcements in local or social media, finding or providing an officiant - we can even help you write or deliver a eulogy! Whatever the need, we are here to help make it happen.
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Sometimes your wishes and those of your loved ones are not in alignment. If you need support speaking with a loved one about their end-of-life plans, we are available to offer guidance or facilitate a conversation.
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Sometimes people find it overwhelming to deal with the formalities and commercialism of funeral homes and cemeteries. We are available to be your liaison should you wish for someone to take on this task for you. Once we understand your wishes, we can make arrangements on your behalf, taking your budget and preferences into account, ensuring that you have final approval over all plans and expenses.
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Rabbi Gottlieb is available for officiating any Jewish or non-denominational end-of-life ritual or ceremony. Officiation includes advance planning, eulogy writing, and the leading of the ritual/ceremony itself. Should you wish to be connected to a a clergy or leader from another faith or cultural tradition, we would be happy to refer you to a trusted member of our Network.
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We are available to help you choose, arrange, or approve the text of your memorial marker.
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Depending on your needs, you may require only one consultation session and access to our Network and Resources Portal, or you may wish to book several planning sessions, or give yourself the peace of mind of having complete planning & logistical support by choosing our Full Access package.
Planning Session fees:
Virtual session - $80/hr
In-person sessions (Simcoe-County) - $100/hr
In-person sessions (GTA) - $200/hr
Liaison Fees:
$450 per event (funeral/memorial/vigil)
On-Site supervision on day of event: $250
Officiation Fee:
$1000
Memorial Marker Arrangements:
Arrangement Fee: $250
Text-Approval Fee (for memorial markers containing Hebrew text): $36
Full Access Packages:
Our Full Access Packages are a great option for those who would like to take advantage of more than one, or all of our support and services related to advance planning of funerals, memorials and/or vigils. These packages bring peace of mind, knowing that all your advance planning needs will be taken care of with experienced guidance and sensitivity.
Package A: Basic Support - $350
Includes virtual Needs Assessment plus three additional virtual planning or counselling sessions, access to our Network & Resources Portal, and two hours of logistical support.
Package B: Comprehensive Support - $750
Includes virtual Needs Assessment plus five additional virtual planning or counselling sessions or two additional in-person sessions, access to our Network & Resources Portal, and five hours of logistical and/or liaison support .
Package C: Complete Support - $1000
Includes virtual Needs Assessment plus unlimited virtual sessions andthree in-person sessions, access to our Network & Resources Portal, and ongoing* support with logistics.
*includes up to 5 in-person sessions, or 10 virtual sessions
Officiation can be added to any of these packages for an additional $500