What do people use a private funeral chapel for?

About Me
Sharing The Burden: Ideas For Funeral Arrangements

Hello, everybody. My name is Lois, and I am in my seventies. It might be hard to believe, but I attended my first funeral when I was sixty-five years old. Since then, I have suffered the loss of quite a few family members and close friends. In fact, I have now organised over a dozen funerals. As someone who had been so blessed, it really came as a shock when I first experienced the trauma of making funeral arrangements whilst still finding time to grieve. It really taught me the importance of having an empathetic and creative funeral director that can help share the burden and honour your loved one appropriately. Hopefully, this blog will help those who, like me, had no idea about the enormity of the task a funeral organiser faces. I trust that the ideas within will prove comforting and inspiring during this difficult time. Thank you.

What do people use a private funeral chapel for?

26 March 2019
 Categories: , Blog


When someone dies, there is usually a period of between ten days and two weeks between the actual passing itself and the funeral. The funeral may be either a burial or cremation, and is intended to bring some degree of closure to the family and friends of the person who has died.

Whilst the ten days or two weeks may not seem long in terms of time, the funeral home plays a significant role in providing stabilisation and transition through this period. This is a crucial time in the bereavement process when support and healing are often most needed.

This article shares how and why people can benefit from using a private funeral chapel.

Role of Funeral Home vs. a Private Funeral Chapel

Once someone has died, the funeral home will collect the body from the home or hospital, and keep it at the premises of the funeral home until the burial or cremation takes place. This is where the practicalities of making sure the deceased is prepared for the funeral take place. A big part of these preparations will be to make sure that the memories that people have of the deceased are as comforting and peaceful as is possible. This is where the use of a private funeral chapel cab be really important.

A private funeral chapel is normally used at least once, and sometimes more regularly by the family and friends of the person who has died. It can be used both for viewing purposes before the funeral and sometimes for the actual funeral itself. When a funeral chapel is being used for viewings, a lot of preparation will go into making sure that the deceased's body and coffin are presented in a dignified and appropriate manner. The funeral home usually takes great care in making sure that the lead up to and the viewing itself is done in a gentle and thoughtful way.

Understanding the Cycle of Loss and Grief

The viewing of the coffin, and possibly the deceased as well if it is an open coffin, prior to the funeral is often thought of as a crucial part of allowing the grieving process to really happen. It is a stage in the cycle of loss and grief where people can really begin to accept that the person has died, and at the same time prepare them for the burial itself.

The burial itself is an act of finality in some ways, but the lead up to it can also make it the beginning of the freedom to move forward. The viewing of a coffin in a private funeral chapel can be thought of as a stage in that process, hence its importance.

If the funeral itself is to be held in the same private funeral chapel as the viewing, this can also have the effect of allowing the two-stage process to have a maximum effect. During the viewing people can prepare themselves for a final goodbye, knowing it is going to take place when they are at that moment. That can often give people a sense of stability, that they are in a place they know which can help of the grieving process, which in turn can lead to a long-term sense of peace and emotional closure.