Funeral Clergy Ceremonies and Donations- Dealing with Loss is Painful and Confusing

Often, many consumers don’t realize the expense involved in a funeral.

At Texas Twins Events, Reverend Wendy Wortham and our team will review your contract to ensure no hidden fees are added. Consumers not understanding The Funeral Rule are often taken advantage of by Funeral Homes while dealing with sudden and shocking loss- my role as a clergy and celebrant is to protect the survivors.

Death is always a shocking surprise unless a long illness preceded it.

I’ve had calls requesting last rites at area hospitals as well as calls from family members who were under the impression that a Memorial or Graveside Service were provided at no cost and don’t have the funds to pay for a Minister. Funeral homes provide an officiant however, the cost is $200 and up for their services.

Due to the number of calls requesting free ceremonies and services, I feel obligated to inform consumers what exactly Texas Twins Events considers when gifting our services under the no cost or reduced cost structures, to better clarify when we consider a family truly in need of our assistance:

Hopefully, this blog will describe what truly NEEDY means. It means your family is under the “means test” with the combined income, meaning that in the State of Texas, a two wage earning family that together your earned income is under 40k. Failing this I will try to offer a discount on an individual basis or, if your family is either active/inactive or retired military you automatically will receive a discount of 20 percent on services for military members which is always honored with my team. We try hard to assist everyone in a time of need, lately we are doing more no cost events than paid events which has become a problem.

Just contacting me and “saying” that you can’t afford to pay me will no longer fly after I threw a block party for a friend who, as pointed out to me by my staff, both were gainfully employed, drove two new cars, and lived in a nice brick home. When I received the message on FB requesting my assistance with ideas, decorations, party favors & food, I was excited to help and would spend nearly a month organizing, ordering and making trips to and from the area not knowing how badly I would be taken advantage of down the road. You see, at the very least, the cake and cupcakes (the only items referred to in the revue) should have been reimburse to Virginia Malone who had purchased them with her own money as I was buying food and drinks at a separate location and didn’t have time to pick them up myself and asked Angie to please cover at least this minimal cost which she failed to do.

Ironically, this same “friend” was a coworker from years ago that I would hear about once a year for donations of clothing, shoes, etc for fundraising or garage sale events for her sons school among other things. So, you can see how after donating truckloads of items from myself and my sisters homes why I would have a chip on my shoulder after a one sided friendship I’ve been in for years. A little safe advice for others in business- don’t work for friends as it is a thankless position that you will lose money on and possibly miss a paying customer doing!

After failing to reimburse my team for even the expense of the cake- then leaving four stars on Stik.com after decorations were made and more purchased, and other snacks and drinks were provided for this event, you can imagine my shock at not only NOT BEING PAID ONE DIME for time, preparation, decorations, gasoline and other numerous expenditures by myself and my team that this individual left a less than perfect revue for Texas Twins Events.

At the very least after spending a month to prepare and organize this event as well as numerous other expenses- I was compelled to re evaluate free services based on one event that became a relatively expensive venue that did not benefit the team financially or even with a fair online revue posted.

Sure, I’ve been taken advantage of plenty of times. I try to not allow my heart to harden, but after having my eyes opened to what a possible client might think justifies a no cost event or service, we now must request a paycheck stub or other method of calculating ones ability to pay a portion or no service fees on every request we receive.

My community knows that I’m highly involved in numerous charities and services for the less fortunate and I’ve always made exceptions to pricing based on need and financial restraints.

When receiving calls requesting donated ceremonies, I ask several key questions to determine whether or not my staff and I can help based on scheduling, distance and true need to the caller. After all, gasoline and taking time off from our other jobs (yes, my entire team works PT for other employers) helping everyone who requests our services is not always possible.

It is no secret that I’ve donated silk arrangements to area funeral homes for years to ensure a beautiful event for those with little money for extravagant floral designs- I saw a need and I filled it.

My Funeral and Memorial fee structures start at $75 as there is a bit of research on the deceased involved to conduct a ceremony that honors them appropriately along with their religious preferences, Texas Twins Events tries to stay well under traditional fees within our area.

However, when needed, I have always made exceptions to the rules and based on finances, continue to try and meet the needs in my community.

Hopefully, the “haves” level out the “have nots” and it all works out in the wash.

After all, I do have monthly expenses in operating a business with my web development, advertising, printing, accounting and other fees associated with operating a business.

If you or your family are struggling with the death of a loved one, please feel free to contact me and we will work to find a solution with cutting costs on the funeral home and other expenses. I’m quite familiar with ways to reduce expenses associated with the death of a loved one.