Crematory Tour at The Green-Wood Cemetery

This fascinating review of cremation’s history and its impact on the future of the funeral will take us from mankind's earliest known cremation in Australia 32 thousand years ago, to pagan cremations in ancient Rome, to a discussion of how Judaism’s consistent objection to cremation led to 1,500 years of burial (Christians have long felt that you have to have a physical body to be resurrected, but all that is changing now). Joan of Arc, Walt Whitman, Madame Helena Blavatsky, Mahatma Gandhi, Jessica Mitford, Ann Landers and Whitney Houston will all make brief cameo appearances in this engaging, lively talk. Cremation today accounts for a majority of American funerals, but will and should that trend continue unabated? Guide and funeral director Amy Cunningham will review how the coronavirus crisis revealed the need for deeper thinking on simple, earth-friendly modes of disposition. After a safe and socially distanced glance at the faces of the crematory retorts with Gabrielle Gatto in Green-Wood's state-of-the-art facility, you'll have sound knowledge on how to develop your own end-of-life plan in a way that conforms to your values. Who knew that woven into cremation’s story were so many hotly contested views on how to face death, and so much passion regarding what’s really right for the earth and all of civilization?