Cremate or Bury – A Less Costly Alternative
Posted on 30. Oct, 2010 by James Clark in Family, Opinions, Popular Stories
Cremation is a process which reduces the body to gases and bone fragments. This is a less costly alternative to keeping the body intact where the body needs preparation to be put into a casket When the body is cremated, you don’t have to prepare the body other than taking the metals and medical devices such as pace makers from the body.
The body is put into a furnace that can withstand temperatures of 1400 to 2100 Degrees Fahrenheit. This is lined with heat-resistant bricks which reflects heat back to the body. The process will take around an hour to complete. Some crematoriums will place the body into a container which is something that can burn such as a simple corrugated cardboard box. They can also cover the body with sheets and use no container.
During the cremation process, the body turns into dry calcium phosphates, sodium and potassium. The bones become brittle, so they will break down into smaller pieces of fragments which are small enough to be put into a small vault. They can grind the bones down into power, if you would rather have that process done.
My wife wanted to be cremated. We held a small service with a priest before she was placed in the crematorium. All she had was a nice pillow and a sheet covering her body.
For some, the thought of a long, slow decomposition process is unappealing. Many people find that they prefer cremation because it disposes of the body immediately. All that’s left is bone fragments which can be put into a container
My wife felt this way. She did not want her body to go through the decomposition process when the end result is the bones being left.
God says that in the Second coming, all Christians will be raised. It doesn’t matter whether you die in combat, accident, cremation, or buried. You will be resurrected.
For my wife, we choose to have the bone fragments put into a plastic vault. This way she could be transported back to the Philippines as a carry on for the flight back. This surely was more convenient and cheaper. Of course you have to have all the necessary paper work in place, which we did obtain.
We spent around $2,000 for the cremation and for the plastic vault that her bones were put in. We had a service at the church I attend. I made up the videos and slide shows of her and the Pastor incorporated them in the service. The church members brought the food for afterwords. As you can see, there is a huge difference in costs. This also brought the members of our church together to help us out in a big way.
A traditional burial can be complicated. My Mom passed away last March. We had her body flown back to New York where she would be buried next to my Dad. We had to meet with the funeral director to discuss what casket, vault, and the type of service we wanted for my Mom. I ended up spending around $8,000 for her funeral.
Cremated remains may be buried or put in memorial sites or cemeteries. They can also be dispersed in many ways and locations. You can keep them in a cardboard box or buy a urn for containment. Some people bury the remains along with the family graves. This is done by the Funeral Home. Some may charge for this service.
Now that I experienced both ways of how you can honor someone who has passed on, it’s far easier to have the body cremated. The only choices you have are vaults and urns. When the process is finished, you get ownership of the ashes/bones that they put in a container for you.
When you are ready to have the service, you bring the container with you to the Church and put a picture so that people know how she looked. Casket wise, the funeral home has to transport it for you, usually to the Church and then to the interment place. The Funeral home does charge for this service. The only place the casket is opened is in the Funeral Home. They don’t allow it open in the Churches or at the Cemetery.
Lenore Bleifuss
31. Oct, 2010
A detailed description well done. My husband was cremated, and body view before at the funeral home as well as the church. He was later cremated. It was more costly to have funeral home viewing but I did so because of far off family. I myself will be cremated and memorial service at church only. It is so much less costly and easier for the loved ones. Our spirit lives on while our mortal shell goes back to the earth. Thanks for the article.
Bill
13. Feb, 2011
I also would like to be cremated as it is a less expensive way to go and to me much easier on the family. We will be with Christ no matter what process we choose.