Designing a healing funeral
Create a meaningful ceremony that celebrates a life, mourns a death, and helps you find peace.
Live Calls on April 30th & May 1st, 2-4pm PT
Early Bird Bonus Ends April 28th
A funeral can be hollow, awkward, and out-of-touch with the needs and values of the deceased person and their family.
If you design a funeral well, it can also be a heartfelt, moving, and deeply transformative gathering, one that brings healing to the living and the dead.
Dr. Sarah Kerr, PhD
Death Doula, and Founder of The Centre for Sacred Deathcare
Step onto
your path
Move forward as an inspired guide, helping your family and friends to meet loss in a healing way.
Learn in community
Hear from others who share the calling to support dying people and their families.
Gain practical skills
Use logistical and spiritual best practices to create a meaningful, heart-opening, community ceremony.
Apply a soul-based framework
Understand funerals as transformative healing rituals that validate grief and facilitate healing.
Serve the living and the dead
Create a ceremony that comforts the living and helps the dead person get where they need to go.
Wisdom and practical skill-building
“Sarah’s class was an amazing experience, containing tremendous depth and breadth of wisdom and practical skill-building. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us!”
– Maxine S.
Healing happens when we can feel and express all our emotions.
Hold space for love and grief
• Help participants be present with pain and heartbreak
• Welcome beauty, celebration, laughter and delight
• Strengthen the bonds of love and connection for everyone involved
Healing happens when we can feel and express all our emotions.
Hold space for love and grief
• Help participants be present with pain and heartbreak
• Welcome beauty, celebration, laughter and delight
• Strengthen the bonds of love and connection for everyone involved
A well-designed funeral supports emotional and spiritual healing.
Organize a beautiful and meaningful ceremony
• Understand core ritual principles and how to apply them
• Adapt a best practices ceremony template to your own needs and values
• Feel grounded and confident, even if you’ve never planned a funeral before
A well-designed funeral supports emotional and spiritual healing.
Organize a beautiful and meaningful ceremony
• Understand core ritual principles and how to apply them
• Adapt a best practices ceremony template to your own needs and values
• Feel grounded and confident, even if you’ve never planned a funeral before
A good funeral is a rite of passage for the living and the dead.
Develop skills to meet death in a soul-based way
• Launch the deceased on their voyage to the next realm
• Support the living as they begin a new life with their loved one gone
• Offer a chance for reflection, mourning, and meaning-making
A good funeral is a rite of passage for the living and the dead.
Develop skills to meet death in a soul-based way
• Launch the deceased on their voyage to the next realm
• Support the living as they begin a new life with their loved one gone
• Offer a chance for reflection, mourning, and meaning-making
Serving your community is empowering and affirming..
Support dying people and families
• Develop and apply your unique healing gifts to support others
• Validate your intuitive understanding about the soul-journey of death and loss
• Play your part in the movement to build a more death-positive culture
Serving your community is empowering and affirming..
Support dying people and families
• Develop and apply your unique healing gifts to support others
• Validate your intuitive understanding about the soul-journey of death and loss
• Play your part in the movement to build a more death-positive culture
Register before April 28th to join the bonus Community Integration Call
Amazing, positive, specific, detailed, practical information
“This class felt like a cornucopia, just overflowing with amazing, positive, specific, detailed, practical information. It answered all the questions I had, and even ones I didn’t have. It was excellent, and Sarah is a wonderful teacher.”
– Julie S.
ABOUT YOUR INSTRUCTOR
Dr. Sarah Kerr, PhD
Sarah is a Death Doula, ritual healing practitioner, and sacred deathcare educator.
With a PhD in Transformative Learning, and a focus on ritual and rites of passage, Sarah’s approach blends the spiritual with the pragmatic. Sarah has more than two decades of hands-on training in spiritual and shamanic healing practices, and she offers a clear roadmap for students and clients who are called to meet death and loss in a soul-based way.
As a Death Doula, Sarah serves as “clergy for the unchurched,” bringing inclusive and nature-based spiritual values to her work. With a strong community-focused approach, Sarah helps her clients meet mortality in a conscious and open-hearted way.
As an experienced teacher and trainer, Sarah has helped thousands of students validate their intuitive knowing that death is a soul-journey, not just a physical experience. Sarah’s courses give students the understanding, tools, and confidence they need to support dying people and their families.
In addition to creating the Centre for Sacred Deathcare’s library of virtual classes, Sarah lectures and teaches internationally. Her deathly advice column, “Dear Sarah,” appears in print publications in Idaho and Montana. Sarah’s work has been featured in Maclean’s and Zoomer Magazine, and on CBC Radio’s The Current, Global, and CTV National News.
ABOUT YOUR INSTRUCTOR
Dr. Sarah Kerr, PhD
Sarah is a Death Doula, ritual healing practitioner, and sacred deathcare educator.
With a PhD in Transformative Learning, and a focus on ritual and rites of passage, Sarah’s approach blends the spiritual with the pragmatic. Sarah has more than two decades of hands-on training in spiritual and shamanic healing practices, and she offers a clear roadmap for students and clients who are called to meet death and loss in a soul-based way.
As a Death Doula, Sarah serves as “clergy for the unchurched,” bringing inclusive and nature-based spiritual values to her work. With a strong community-focused approach, Sarah helps her clients meet mortality in a conscious and open-hearted way.
As an experienced teacher and trainer, Sarah has helped thousands of students validate their intuitive knowing that death is a soul-journey, not just a physical experience. Sarah’s courses give students the understanding, tools, and confidence they need to support dying people and their families.
In addition to creating the Centre for Sacred Deathcare’s library of virtual classes, Sarah lectures and teaches internationally. Her deathly advice column, “Dear Sarah,” appears in print publications in Idaho and Montana. Sarah’s work has been featured in Maclean’s and Zoomer Magazine, and on CBC Radio’s The Current, Global, and CTV National News.
Death is hard and sad, but if you have the skills to meet it well, it can also be grace-filled and heart-opening.
Course Content
Course Content
The Principles of a
Healing Funeral
When you understand the spiritual and energetic dynamics that shape a good funeral, you’ll have the confidence to design your own ceremony.
Practices for Designing
a Healing Funeral
If every logistical decision is designed to support the emotional and spiritual needs of the participants, the ceremony will be grounded, accessible, and effective.
The Principles of a
Healing Funeral
When you understand the spiritual and energetic dynamics that shape a good funeral, you’ll have the confidence to design your own ceremony.
Practices for Designing
a Healing Funeral
If every logistical decision is designed to support the emotional and spiritual needs of the participants, the ceremony will be grounded, accessible, and effective.
How it Works
Early Bird Bonus
Register before April 28 for both calls.
Regular Registration
Register after April 28 for the Teaching Call only.
How it Works
Early Bird Bonus
Register before April 28 for both calls.
Regular Registration
Register after April 28 for the Teaching Call only.
Teaching Call
Expand what you know, and what you can do
April 30th, 2-4 pm PT
This is a rich educational session, filled with practical information, stories and examples of lived rituals.
You’ll learn sacred deathcare practices for meeting death in a meaningful and healing way.
• 2 hrs Structured Teaching and Q&A
• 1 hr Optional Informal Q&A
• Short Breakout Conversations
Community Integration Call
Expand who you are, and what you can be
May 1st, 2-4 pm PT
This session offers an opportunity to apply the information from the Teaching Call to your own life situation or professional practice.
Through participatory and group activities, you’ll bring the learning out of your head and down into your body.
• 2 hrs Guided Integration & Conversation
• Experiential Learning Activities
• Small Group Activities
Teaching Call
Expand what you know, and what you can do
April 30th, 2-4 pm PT
This is a rich educational session, filled with practical information, stories and examples of lived rituals.
You’ll learn sacred deathcare practices for meeting death in a meaningful and healing way.
• 2 hrs Structured Teaching and Q&A
• 1 hr Optional Informal Q&A
• Short Breakout Conversations
Community Integration Call
Expand who you are, and how you can be
May 1st, 2-4 pm PT
This session offers an opportunity to apply the information from the Teaching Call to your own life situation or professional practice.
Through participatory and group activities, you’ll bring the learning out of your head and down into your body.
• 2 hrs Guided Integration & Conversation
• Experiential Learning Activities
• Small Group Activities
All Registrants Will Receive:
All Registrants Will Receive
EARLY BIRD REGISTRATION
$169 CAD
(~ $125 USD)
OR 2 MONTHLY PAYMENTS OF $89 CAD
Register before April 28th to join the bonus Community Integration Call
Join more than 3000 students who have studied with Sarah
I am excited to connect with like-minded people
“Sarah’s desire to build community is evident, and I am excited to connect with other like-minded people through her offerings.”
-Brenda K
I feel a kinship, feel supported
“We are going through a teetering on the end death experience with my dad and I am the outlier in the family. I am thankful for the training I have, related to death and finding comfort in it and in ritual. Many times I feel alone in this process. But every time I get your newsletter, I feel a kinship, feel supported, and feel like I will be okay.”
-Sarah D
A community of people with the calling
“Thank you for creating and presenting this material so well and beginning to develop a community of people with like callings.”
-Bridget P
Connecting the spiritual with the pragmatic
“I felt like I walked into an entirely different world today. I come from a rational, concrete, pragmatic world, and I have always had a feeling for—and a yearning for—the spiritual world but have never really gone there. I’ve always stayed very practical, very pragmatic. This was absolutely wonderful.
Thank you so much.”
-Ellen K
Validated many profound experiences
“Validated many profound and inexplicable experiences…A great foundation and roadmap for learning.”
-Tana P
A groundwork for learning
“Sarah took care to lay the groundwork for learning, and made it easy to ask questions. I appreciate her sincerity and her desire to share her knowledge, in a way that makes the world a better place for all, including the creatures and the planet that sustains us...”
-Margaret V
I am excited to connect with like-minded people
“Sarah’s desire to build community is evident, and I am excited to connect with other like-minded people through her offerings.”
-Brenda K
I feel a kinship, feel supported
“We are going through a teetering on the end death experience with my dad and I am the outlier in the family. I am thankful for the training I have, related to death and finding comfort in it and in ritual. Many times I feel alone in this process. But every time I get your newsletter, I feel a kinship, feel supported, and feel like I will be okay.”
-Sarah D
A community of people with the calling
“Thank you for creating and presenting this material so well and beginning to develop a community of people with like callings.”
-Bridget P
Connecting the spiritual with the pragmatic
“I felt like I walked into an entirely different world today. I come from a rational, concrete, pragmatic world, and I have always had a feeling for—and a yearning for—the spiritual world but have never really gone there. I’ve always stayed very practical, very pragmatic. This was absolutely wonderful.
Thank you so much.”
-Ellen K
Validated many profound experiences
“Validated many profound and inexplicable experiences…A great foundation and roadmap for learning.”
-Tana P
A groundwork for learning
“Sarah took care to lay the groundwork for learning, and made it easy to ask questions. I appreciate her sincerity and her desire to share her knowledge, in a way that makes the world a better place for all, including the creatures and the planet that sustains us...”
-Margaret V
Frequently Asked Questions
Is this course for me?
Designing a Healing Funeral is for anyone who understands that a well-crafted funeral is an important step on the transformational soul-journey of death and bereavement.
If you’re planning a funeral for a loved one—now or in the future—you’ll find the resources to create a welcoming and healing ceremony for your family and community.
If you’re a death doula, celebrant, or other end-of-life practitioner, you’ll get a step-by-step funeral planning guide to use with your clients.
Are there any prerequisites?
There are no prerequisites for the course, other than a desire to honour the spiritual dynamics of the dying and grieving experience.
What is a soul-based approach to death and loss?
A soul-based approach cares for our souls as well as our bodies, and for the dead as well as the living.
This course is guided by nature-based spirituality and modern consciousness research, but its fundamental principles can be applied by those of any spiritual perspective.
How does this course fit with other Sacred Deathcare courses?
Designing a Healing Funeral is the fourth course in Doing Death Better, a five-course series on practical skills for meeting death in a conscious, meaningful way.
The content of the five courses flows from one to the next, but each course stands alone, and they may be taken in any order.
Will this course teach me to be a death doula?
Helping dying people and families plan a healing funeral is an important part of a death doula’s role. There’s a lot to be learned to be able to do that well.
The first step in that learning journey is to develop a deep and nuanced understanding of what a healing funeral looks and feels like, and what steps and structures will create that experience. That’s what you’ll learn in this course.
The second step is to learn how to walk into a room with a client family you may never have met before, and tactfully and tenderly guide them through the process. That’s beyond the scope of this course, but you’ll need step one before you can progress to step two.
This course takes you through step one.
What is the course schedule?
The Teaching Call runs from 2:00 to 4:00 PT on Tuesday, April 30 (Convert to your timezone). The call officially ends at the 2 hour mark, but you’re welcome to stay on for another hour of informal conversation and extra Q&A with Sarah.
We’ll send out a quick replay video of the Teaching Call on Tuesday night, so anyone who missed the call can watch it before the Community Integration Call on Wednesday.
The Community Integration Call runs from 2:00 to 4:00 PT on Wednesday, May 1 (Convert to your timezone).
The calls are delivered live via Zoom, and we invite you to sign in up to 10 minutes early, to settle in and say hello.
Both calls include small group conversations. Having your camera on is optional, but appreciated. You’re welcome to opt out of group activities if you prefer.
Will the calls be recorded? How will I access them?
All calls will be recorded.
All registrants will have lifetime access to the edited recordings and supplementary teaching material, inside The Centre for Sacred Deathcare course library.
What’s the difference between the Teaching Call and the Community Integration Call?
The Teaching Call includes a lecture-style presentation on the course material, a short breakout session for small group discussion, and lots of time for Q&A.
The Community Integration Call is a more participatory event, with more small group conversation. It includes facilitated learning activities to help you anchor the teachings in your own life experience and situation.
What accessibility accommodations are included?
All of our video lessons include closed captioning, both during the live Zoom call, and when they’re uploaded to the course portal.
After the live class, we generate a transcript (unedited), which is uploaded to the course portal, along with the videos, and an audio-only version of the class.
Before the course, we’ll share a course outline and note-taking template that you can print and use to follow along with the teaching.
If you need other accessibility support, please reach out. We’d love to know what would make things easier for you.
Will I be certified?
As there are no assignments or evaluation involved in this course, this is not a certification program, and participating does not directly certify you in any way.
All participants will, however, receive a Certificate of Completion, which may be submitted for Continuing Education Units (depending on your licensure.)
Is there financial assistance available?
The Centre for Sacred Deathcare is committed to equitable access to our programs. If financial issues would prevent you from taking the course, please reach out.
What is the refund policy?
If you registered for a course that’s not right for you, or if the course content didn’t deliver what you were expecting, let us know. We’ll happily issue a full refund.
We’re always working to improve the course content and delivery, and appreciate any feedback you can offer about what didn’t work for you.
What if I have questions that aren’t answered here?
We want to help you have the best learning experience possible. If you have any further questions about the course, please get in touch and we’d be happy to help.