SapphireSue,
It sounds like there is some interest in knowing how you would clown at a memorial service. Would you tell us how
you plan to do this? Details! :-D

This service is a special service for children coping with grief put on by hospice and I work with Home Health in my other career and was asked to come up with some thing. We do some tradition fun stuff like face painting and balloons, early in the day, but I wrote a skit that deals with the different feelings a person goes through when a love one dies from a child's view. Anger, fear, loneliness, ending by the two caracters making a memory box of the person they lost. Which lead into this activity by the counselers. At the end of the day we released balloon with each persons name inside.

I also wanted to add that there are several stories you can use and add balloon scupting to it. type in Waterbug and grief on you search engine. It's a great story for helping people deal with death and while telling the story you can use a bumble bee balloon and a long balloon [160?] and go from a waterbug to a dragon fly. You can use any story about any animal that changes, tad poles become frogs, caterpillers become butterflies ect.

wow that sounds so nice, i never heard of stuff like that, it must be so hard for those kids to go through losing a loved one, its hard enough as an adult, but i can not imagine dealing with such terrible losses as a child. I hope to do a memmorial service for people who need it someday.

Well this year's going to be different and it coming up this saturday. I now working with kids 9-12, so they're going to just do silly skits [which well hopefully lead to the older childre doing some type of skit activity later], I'll take Crystal [she's my older puppet that's about 12 yrs old] and we're going to discuss what's in her memory box and her feeling[ there are some joke to laugh at but the message is there] and they will make memory boxes later in the day. This year most of the children [so far about 35 have enrolled ]have lost a parent due to tramatic events ie car wreck, where as in the past it's been usuually illness ie cancer. One of my young clown's dad killed himself so I hope this will also allow her.

This year's Carecamp by Hospice was wonderful.

It was held at Andrew Jackson State Park, outside. Hay bales had been lined up to make our arrena. We did our show earlier in the morning then help the children make, memory neclaces[braclets, key chain] with beads, then my group left, I got out of costume to help, be an extra pair of hands we had over 50 children not to count older siblings and parents. The children then got into smaller age groups to talk with peers about the loved one they lost and make memory boxes, Another contemp. christan group provided music then we ended by releasing balloons with messages written by the children. close call with this as the director had blew them up earlier and left in the car and wtih the temp changes some started going flat. Looking forward to next year.

What a fascinating use for clowning. I neve rreally thought about anything along these lines. Thank you for sharing.

I know after going to three funerals this summer I began discussing my own preperations. I told the wife that I didnt want my last act on this earth to be something that makes people cry after a lifetime of laughs. I havve instructed her to request balloons and streamers instead of flowers, and to dress me in my Jester outfir and Gilroy makeup. I've also requested to be wearing a button that everyone can read when they approach the coffin - the button will say "I'm not wearing any pants" I figure if that doesnt get a laugh, nothing will.

Some may find that tastless, but I see death as a reason to celebrate, not to mourn, and I want people to remember me and giggle. My dream funeral would be the one from the Mary Tyler Moore Show when chuckles the clown died - She laughed her head off during the Eulegy. I can think of no finer compliment that a clown could be paid/

Thaat's my $.02 woth

Well said Gilroy!

what a great idea. and instead of the funeral march play a john philips sousa march or circus music.
,

Actually I was thinking something like Livin La Vida Loca or the Hokey Pokey...maybe even the bunny hop for while they aare viewing the body on their way out.

I'm with ya there, I'm on time now [barely] but used to be at least 3-5 min late no matter how hard I tried. I'v told all my family I'm serious and I'll haunt them if they don't to it, but I want my casket in another room for viewing, and to wait until they start the service and about 10 min into roll me down the aisle so they can tease me about being late for my own funneral. I told mom every would get a good laugh, beleive me I'm not in any hurry to get there but I know were I'm going and it should be a celebration as much as it can be.

Dear Saphire Sue,
I applaud you for the hard work you do-for going in when others would rather go out. I was a direct volunteer for our local hospice for 5 years and then took my skills to a funeral home. I was there for 14 years working with kids of all ages and their families at the time of death. It was hard on me but my dear Papa God was always there just when I needed him most. I have an article on my web page called Heart Hugs from Jesus. If you like it, I would give your permission to use it as the Lord leads. My October article is called What to Say (and not say) I also chose my favorite bereavement books for kids and some for adults that are in my bookstore in case you are browsing. I always get questions about how to help kids and these are the books I used. God bless you for letting your heart hurt just like Jesus.

Thank you for allowing me to use your "Heart Hugs from Jesus".

Carecamp is just around the cornor, Scheduled for Oct 4th this year. I/we [if my ministry group can attend they will] always open the festivities and we plan to do the Memory box skit. It deals with the stages of grief through a kids perspective in hopefully funny way and lets them know it's ok to have the feelings they have and that it normal. It end with the two charatures leaving the stage to make a memory box for their loved on, and this will lead the kids off into that activity, in small groups with kids near their own ages.

I clowned at a funeral once, complete with New Orleans-style Jazz parade! Quite a lot of fun, actually. Probably the best funeral I've ever attended if I had to be honest.

I posted an article on how to conduct a last walkabout service that I found, it's in the Articles section if anyone is interested.

Hi all,
Rosebud and myself will be doing a small childerns chat today at church. This will be are first time to do anything like this. Rosebud got started this year at mosecamp.Please keep us in mind this morning.
thanks

Smirky,
Well, How did it go?

hey saphire what kind of supplies did you provide for the kids to make the memory boxes. i had been a clown for only a few months and did balloons for a program similar to this one. that was 2 years ago- although it was an exhausting day -it was rewarding as my nephew ( who had lost an older brother) partipated in the program. i work with people with disabilities -and have thought about how to put such a program together for them

I didn't get the supplies, the Social worker over the camp gets everything. I think the last time they colected shoes boxes ahead of time, then had all kinds of stickers, mag. kids could cut pictures out of, paper,markers, stick glue, and asked family members to brings some pictures for the project/or copies of pic.s. If any one get "the cross and the clown it's in the Jan/07 issues. in the skits and bits section.

Morning Glory
I also work for a company that helps people with disabilities. We have a program called Kids On The Block that we put on in local area schools.

It is puppets and each one has a different disability, the show lets kids see that even though people have disabilities they are just like they are, the same hopes, dreams ect.

bumbles- i like the idea of using puppets with different disabilities

I didn't know that clowns dose shows for funerals or memoral services.

A clown can do anything that calls them. the hope is the family holding the memorial is aware and approves of the plan ahead of time. I told my with everyone at mine is required to sear a sponge nose unless they are in full regalia.

thank Luki,

Actually I was thinking something like Livin La Vida Loca or the Hokey Pokey...maybe even the bunny hop for while they aare viewing the body on their way out.

:applause: Marvelous! Maybe a ten pie salute, or black balloon animals... "And as we lower Mister-" *TTTTHHHHHHHHHHHPPPPT!!! Electronic whoopie cushion. Sigh dark humor... good times....

Well this years was a little different and to be honest not as good as in past as far as a grief councilling camp is supposed to be, more of an all day party, not focusing on things like they had done in the pass. As far as clowning goes we had fun, but I knew two of the kids in the camp had lost their dad this past year and I was disappointed in the camp sessions.

I had a friend from Brighton, called The Mudman. His girl friend was from Costa Rica. Two years ago whilst on holiday over there, Mudman went for a swim. The next day his body was washed up on the beach minus his liver. There was a dirty great big tiger shark bite out of the side of him. He was cremated, half his ashes were sprinkled on a mountain side in Costa Rica, the other half were sent back to Brighton for his UK family and friends to celebrate and remember. It was a sad and somber affair, as these kind of events tend to be. I had only ever known him in party enviroments, he had only ever known me as a clown. There was no consideration on my part, that I would attend his memorial in anything other than clown.

Mudman was eaten by a shark
my dad by a killerwhale
then my baby brother was slurpped up
by a really hungrey sea snail.

Then a cuttlefish cut up my mother
an octopus strangled my sister.
A jelly fish stung my aunty on her toe,
giving her an orible blister.

Then a pufferfish poisoned my grandpa
and a dogfish ate my cat.
Then a catfish ate my dog
and I was really upset about that.

So go for a swim if you want
but don't expect me to come too,
I'd rather sit here with my camera,
I can't wait to see what gets you!

There is allways a place for humour, even in the most dire and saddest of situations if it is appropriate and sensitive. The little ones dont really understand whats happening but they feel their parents and families saddness. The adults really appreiciate your efforts to minimise the little ones' pain. I have done three kids places at wakes over the years. Its just another kind of gig. I enjoy the challenge and find it very rewarding, knowing I have taken some stress of the parents at that point in their lives.

Did you hear about the undertaker who buried someone in the wrong place and was sacked for committing a very grave mistake? Or the anarchist undertaker who was involved in an underground plot?