Plan for death, says Evangelist
Published:Thursday | January 21, 2016 | 12:00 AMCecelia Campbell-Livingston
A number of family members set up savings plans for education and illness. They even have some kind of investment plan for their children when they reach college age.
However, while they make a lot of plans that will benefit them during life, many fail to take death into consideration.
This lack of foresight was played out in the media recently with the death of foundation singer Jackie Brown, whose daughter had no choice, but to turn to society at large for help to ensure her father is buried.
Evangelist Errol Rattray of Errol Rattray Evangelistic Association said the Church on many occasions has had to step in to help bury persons whose bodies have been lying in the morgue for months.
Although they are not members of his organisation, the Church takes charge because of the many outreach programmes in the affected communities.
Rattray pointed out that his institution is not the only organisation that has been shouldering this kind of responsibility, noting that a number of other churches assist through their community outreach.
"There is a need for families to plan for the death of their loved ones or even make plans for their own death," Rattray told Family and Religion.
Entrust assets to church
He said there are many ways this can be done. He admits that some insurance can be expensive, but those with lands or other assets can entrust them to even the Church.
"Should they pass, then that asset would be there to take care of their expenses associated with their burial," Rattray noted.
Other options, he said families can explore are that of the credit union which facilitates Cuna Mutual's Family Indemnity Plan, an insurance plan designed to cover up to six persons on a single contract. The plan sees cash benefit which can be used to cover the funeral expenses for the insurer and the eligible family members.
According to Rattray, a lot of people make the callous statement that once they are dead, they must be buried.
"Some people take that approach. It's a wrong philosophy. They are not realising the embarrassment and the expense that they are leaving for those left behind," he said.
Rattray urged that persons must now consciously plan for death as death is a must.
"It is something that we all must go through - we have to put in place a plan for it," he said. For him, just as plans are made for anything else, death should be at the top of the list.
The evangelist also urged persons to be a part of the Church as he said a lot of churches have benevolent societies which will see them helping their own members.
"No matter what the situation, I have never seen someone who is part of a church body not being able to be buried. The Church will take care of its own," he said.
Rattray concluded with a warning to those who have been drinking and gambling away their life's earnings to stop and consider because at the end of the day, should anything happen to them, there will be nothing left behind to take care of their funeral expenses.