The current Burial Group consists of Sarah Boosey and Miriam Barnett. We took over a while ago from Shelagh Phillips who fulfilled the role single-handedly for some years and continues to give support and advice when needed. Our grateful thanks to her.
Our function is to help and support members and their families on all matters relating to dying, death and bereavement. As a group we have historically maintained a low profile in the Community, only putting in an appearance when someone dies. This has changed more recently as we now often include an article in the monthly newsletter about a cemetery visit or some other relevant subject. You will find these listed under the heading Newsletter Articles.
We hold occasional meetings and we have an action plan.
We liaise with the Norwich Hebrew Congregation, sharing with them as we do the Jewish section attached to the Earlham Road Cemetery.
In this country dying, death and bereavement are subjects which we shy away from, we like to think that it’s ‘not going to happen to us’, but, of course, we are in denial. It is life’s one true certainty – we are all going to die and most of us are going to experience the deaths of family and friends. These are taboo subjects and if we are not totally averse to talking about them we are at the very least ambivalent.
Over the last few years an organisation called Dying Matters has been addressing this ambivalence and encouraging people to begin to talk, to discuss, to plan and to choose. Their slogan is ‘Dying Matters…let’s talk about it’ and during May every year they have a week-long event or rather series of events in Dying Matters Awareness Week. Organisations are encouraged to hold their own events whether large or small around these issues.
In the last couple of years we have started using this as an opportunity to create own event at this time of the year, and we hope to continue this practice, thus widening our activities. We have made a connection with the Care and Bereavement Group at the Northwood and Pinner Liberal Synagogue, whose services and resources in this connection are far more developed than ours. They have agreed to us including links to their page and to their very useful Advanced Personal Information form.
The link to the Care and Bereavement Group at Northwood and Pinner Liberal Synagogue, along with the Advanced Personal Information form, can be found on our website here or click on the link below.
Contact details:
Sarah Boosey: 01362 694071
Miriam Barnett: 01603 615469
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(Page revised Feb 2017)