• • •
 

GENESIS: For Funeral Directors

GENESIS means beginning. The name "GENESIS" was chosen to convey the idea that the death of a loved one, or any significant loss is the end of one period of life and the beginning of a new phase. When someone you love dies the old patterns of your life, your former dreams, the rules that governed your life are no longer as useful as they once were. You are faced with a new beginning. At GENESIS we encourage people to move on with the love and the memories of those who have died motivating you to rediscover yourself and your life and begin again.

The first GENESIS Bereavement Resource Centre was founded in 1993 by John Kennedy Saynor at the Rosar-Morrison Funeral Home in Toronto, Canada. From that first centre, a growing number of funeral homes are adopting the programme to suit the needs of their firms and their communities. There are currently ten (see list, below) funeral homes with GENESIS Bereavement Resource Centres. Each centre includes a lending library of books and videos that is open to the public. Through each centre, speakers may be arranged to present on a wide variety of subjects relating to grief and bereavement.

The goals of a GENESIS Bereavement Resource Centre are as follows:

1. To provide ongoing support for the bereaved in the months following the funeral.

2. To encourage and support grief education in the community.

3. To raise the profile of the participating funeral home in the community in which it is located.

To inquire about having a GENESIS Bereavement Resource Centre in your funeral home, please contact us and we would be happy to discuss this possibility with you.

We publish a number of books that deal with the grief of children and adults alike. The booklet GENESIS: A Personal Guide Through Grief and The Psalms: Companions Through Grief are excellent resources for use as a follow up following the funeral. Our three children's books, Saying Goodbye, Goodbye Grandma and Buster the Clown is Dead are especially helpful to families before and at the time of the funeral.

They each have exercises that help children acknowledge the relationship, express their feelings and to write a letter to the one who has died. Our newest book Buster the Clown is Dead is about the man down the street who is a professional clown! As well as not dealing with a specific relationship it was written specifically to give an explanation of cremation to children. Dead Is A Four Letter Word: A young person's guide through grief tells the story of Peter and his younger brother who are drowned in a boating accident.  The reader is skillfully guided through exercises to help understand the symptoms of grief and the steps that can be taken to begin to resolve the grief.  it is a positive, encouraging book that will support young people as they begin to rebuild their lives after the death of a family member or friend. ($5.00 each)

Our Growing Through Grief series of brochures are an excellent public relations tool. They can be placed in an information centre or library in the funeral home and made available to clergy, doctors, schools, and hospices. In fact any place where professionals are working with people who are grieving, these brochures will be appreciated.

All the books and pamphlets are suitable for follow up or for community education. Your city or town will be better informed when the GENESIS literature is made available to them.

We publish a semi-annual newsletter GENESIS: New Beginnings for the Bereaved with a wide range of articles on death and bereavement issues and available resources.

The Location:

Our office is located in a converted horse barn in the hills of Northumberland County an hour east of Toronto. From our desk we view cattle grazing on distant hills, fields of crops, pastures, and woodland. Through the back door we see a bed of wild flowers and beyond that, through cedar rail fences, the former paddock. It is a perfect place for reflection and inspiration.

GENESIS BEREAVEMENT RESOURCE CENTRES are located in the following cities and towns:

BRITISH COLUMBIA

Kamloops
PERSONAL ALTERNATIVE FUNERAL SERVICES
8-177 Tranquille Rd.
Kamloops, BC V2B 3E8
(250) 554-2324
1-866-664-9646
kamloops@pasf.net

Kelowna
EVERDEN RUST FUNERAL SERVICES & CREMATORIUM
1910 Windsor Rd.
Kelowna, BC V1Y 4R5
(250) 860-6440
1-866-660-6440 Toll Free
(250) 860-6180 Fax
everdenrust@shaw.ca

Penticton
EVERDEN RUST FUNERAL SERVICES & CREMATORIUM
1130 Carmi Avenue
Penticton, BC V2A 3H2
(250) 493-4112
1-888-672-3944 Toll Free
(250) 493-4919 Fax
everdenrustfuneralservices@shaw.ca

ONTARIO

Acton
MACKINNON FAMILY FUNERAL HOME
"Shoemaker Chapel"
55 Mill St. E.
Acton, ON L7J 1H4
(519) 853-0350
1-877-421-9860
mackinnonfuneral@aol.com

Belleville
STEELE FUNERAL HOME
"Moira Street Chapel "
30 Moira St. W.
Belleville, ON K8P 1S2
(613) 968-2273
www.steelefuneralhome.ca

Cobourg
MACCOUBREY FUNERAL HOME
30 King St. E.
Cobourg, ON K9A 1K7
(905) 372-3648
www.maccoubrey.com
maccoubreyfuneralhome@bellnet.ca

Fort Erie
BENNER FUNERAL SERVICES INC.
1105 Benner Rd.
Fort Erie, ON L2A 4N8
(905) 871-0444
www.bennerfuneralservices.com

Millbrook
BENSON FUNERAL HOME
24 King St. E., Box 247
Millbrook, ON L0A 1G0
(705) 932-5300
1-877-982-5300
www.bensonfuneralhomes.com

Mississauga
SCOTT FUNERAL HOME
"Mississauga Chapel "
420 Dundas St. E.
Mississauga, ON L5A 1X5
(905) 272-4040

Newcastle
NEWCASTLE FUNERAL HOME
386 Mill St. S.
Newcastle, ON L1B 1C6
(905) 987-3964
1-877-987-3964 Toll Free
(905) 987-3769 Fax
www.newcastlefuneralhome.com
newcastlefuneralhome@rogers.com

Newmarket
ROADHOUSE AND ROSE FUNERAL HOME
157 Main St. S.
Newmarket, ON L3Y 3Y9
(905) 895-7750

Parry Sound
LOGANS OF PARRY SOUND
81 James St.
Parry Sound, ON P2A 1T7
(705) 746-5855
logans@vianet.on.ca

Peterborough
COMMUNITY ALTERNATIVE
FUNERAL SERVICES
83 Hunter St. W.
Peterobourgh, ON K9H 2K5
(705) 742-1875
www.communityalternative.ca
john@communityalternative.ca