Funeral Professionals Peer Support Meeting: Funeral Service and the LGBTQIA+ Community
WHEELING, IL— In many countries around the world, June is recognized as Pride Month to celebrate and commemorate the activists and members of the LGBTQIA+ community. The month is filled with parades and picnics, but also memorials for the many members and activists of the community that lost their lives to hate, fear, and disease. It’s a powerful reminder to not only serve all members of your community, but also to celebrate the diversity of your colleagues and staff. In observance of Pride Month, the June 20, 2023, funeral professionals peer support meeting welcomes Tim McLoone and Dr. Sara Murphy to facilitate a discussion on the experience of today’s LGBTQ+ funeral professional, allyship, and better serving this community.
“’It takes all kinds to make the world go round.’ This phrase has stuck with me and seems perfectly fitted to where our great big crazy funeral service world is these days—or maybe just the world in general,” reflects Tim McLoone. “One of the changes that has been most profound for me has been witnessing firsthand how much more diverse our profession and our clientele are—more so than I had ever realized before.”
As an out member of the LGBTQ+ community with over 14 years in funeral service, Tim McLoone, owner of William R. May Funeral Home in Glenside, PA., has observed firsthand the need for better understanding of the queer community in the profession. Armed with a passion for growth and change, Tim is dedicated to ensuring that queer-identified funeral professionals and our queer clientele and families are accepted and supported.
Tim will co-facilitate with death educator and suicidologist Dr. Sara Murphy. As an ally and advocate to the LGBTQ+ community, Sara constantly educates herself and others on the important issues and serves as a support to the community. “Perhaps most especially in times of grieving, we have a basic human need for others to bear witness to our pain and to offer support, compassion, and love,” affirms Sara.
Together, Tim and Sara will welcome questions and discussion on the relationship between the LGBTQ+ community and the funeral profession. Participants are invited to share their professional experience and stories of service as a member of the LGBTQ+ community and learn together how to connect and support one another.
Pride encompasses what unites our diverse community. Join Tim McLoone, Dr. Sara Murphy, the Cremation Association of North America, and Funeral Professionals Peer Support to discuss your experiences on the intersection of the LGBTQIA+ community and funeral service. Or, be there just to listen and support your peers across the profession as an ally. If you work for a funeral home, cemetery, or crematory serving the public or supporting those who do—connect with us on Tuesday, June 20, 2023 at 8pm ET / 7pm CT / 5pm PT via Zoom link at goCANA.org/peersupport. Students, apprentices, and interns are welcome.
About Funeral Professional Peer Support
Funeral Professional Peer Support Group is committed to providing support, healing, education and knowledge to funeral professionals. They promote wholeness and wellness by uniting funeral sector professionals through a Canada-wide network of regional organizations offering support, information and resources within their community.
About CANA
Founded in 1913, the Cremation Association of North America (CANA) is an international organization of over 3,500 members, composed of funeral homes, cemeteries, crematories, industry suppliers, and consultants. CANA members believe that cremation is preparation for memorialization.
