If you have suffered a bereavement, we are here to help you over the next few days and the coming weeks and months.
In the first instance
If the deceased was a member of the United Synagogue and part of their Burial Scheme, please call the Burial Society on 020 8950 7767 as soon as possible. If it is out of hours, please leave a message and they will come back to you.
The Burial Society will help you identify the paperwork you may need from medical staff, hospital or nursing home as well as the local Council, and will talk you through the order in which you need to do things.
Please also contact the Shul to let them know of your loss. Please call the Shul Office on 020 8426 0104. If you get the answerphone at any time of day, leave a detailed message as the phone is monitored outside of office hours and we will come back to you quickly if we hear that there has been a bereavement. You can also call Rabbi Sam via the Shul Office.
What information will we need
Whoever you speak to first at Shul, we will ask you a series of questions to make sure you receive the logistical and emotional support that you need.
It may be that the deceased is a member of another Shul, and that their Rabbi and community are taking care of the funeral and the shiva services. But if the deceased was a member of Belmont, or you as our member would prefer Rabbi Sam to officiate, then we will ask you about the funeral arrangements, which nights you would like us to take the shiva service and where you will be sitting shiva. We will ask if you'd like an email to go to the community to let them know of your loss, and if you'd like us to share your contact details in case anyone wants to send condolences. We will also ask exactly when the deceased passed away so that we can set up a yearly yahrzeit reminder letter to come to you, so that you can observe future anniversaries.
Borrowing shiva chairs and prayer books
We will also ask if you need to borrow shiva chairs and prayer books from the Shul. We ask you to arrange for a friend or member of your extended family to liaise with the Shul Office and to come and collect them in time for the first night of prayers. This is a perfect opportunity to give a job to someone who has asked if there is anything they can do for you. When collecting, they will also be given a seven-day memorial candle and a mourner's card to bring to the shiva house. In extenuating circumstances, we will arrange for a volunteer to bring the chairs etc.
Our team is here to support you
Rabbi Sam will be in touch, if he is not the first point of contact, to find out more about the deceased and their wider family, their Hebrew name (if not on record already) and to ensure you have support around you at this time. If you have concerns about forming a minyan at your funeral or shiva services, please let Rabbi Sam know and he will ensure that there are enough attendees.
Our Belmont Community Cares team will also be in touch during the shiva week with a friendly listening ear.
Once the shiva week is over, please contact the Shul Office and let us know who can drop back the chairs and books, and when. This would ideally be within office hours, or during the evening minyan when the building is open.
We will then continue to be in touch over the following weeks. If you feel you need more support to deal with your grief, our Community Cares team can signpost you to organisations that can help. Please leave a message on their direct line 020 8863 3000 or you can email [email protected].
Stone settings
You may want to start thinking about organising a stone setting once you are feeling up to it. Please be back in touch with the Burial Society and they will help you prepare. We ask that you contact the Shul Office as soon as you have a date, so that Rabbi Sam can make sure he is available and we can get it in the diary. If another community is officiating please still let us know about the date, so that we can add it to the diary and share the information with the Belmont Community.
The Shul is here to help at this difficult time. Please don't hesitate to be in touch.
In the first instance
If the deceased was a member of the United Synagogue and part of their Burial Scheme, please call the Burial Society on 020 8950 7767 as soon as possible. If it is out of hours, please leave a message and they will come back to you.
The Burial Society will help you identify the paperwork you may need from medical staff, hospital or nursing home as well as the local Council, and will talk you through the order in which you need to do things.
Please also contact the Shul to let them know of your loss. Please call the Shul Office on 020 8426 0104. If you get the answerphone at any time of day, leave a detailed message as the phone is monitored outside of office hours and we will come back to you quickly if we hear that there has been a bereavement. You can also call Rabbi Sam via the Shul Office.
What information will we need
Whoever you speak to first at Shul, we will ask you a series of questions to make sure you receive the logistical and emotional support that you need.
It may be that the deceased is a member of another Shul, and that their Rabbi and community are taking care of the funeral and the shiva services. But if the deceased was a member of Belmont, or you as our member would prefer Rabbi Sam to officiate, then we will ask you about the funeral arrangements, which nights you would like us to take the shiva service and where you will be sitting shiva. We will ask if you'd like an email to go to the community to let them know of your loss, and if you'd like us to share your contact details in case anyone wants to send condolences. We will also ask exactly when the deceased passed away so that we can set up a yearly yahrzeit reminder letter to come to you, so that you can observe future anniversaries.
Borrowing shiva chairs and prayer books
We will also ask if you need to borrow shiva chairs and prayer books from the Shul. We ask you to arrange for a friend or member of your extended family to liaise with the Shul Office and to come and collect them in time for the first night of prayers. This is a perfect opportunity to give a job to someone who has asked if there is anything they can do for you. When collecting, they will also be given a seven-day memorial candle and a mourner's card to bring to the shiva house. In extenuating circumstances, we will arrange for a volunteer to bring the chairs etc.
Our team is here to support you
Rabbi Sam will be in touch, if he is not the first point of contact, to find out more about the deceased and their wider family, their Hebrew name (if not on record already) and to ensure you have support around you at this time. If you have concerns about forming a minyan at your funeral or shiva services, please let Rabbi Sam know and he will ensure that there are enough attendees.
Our Belmont Community Cares team will also be in touch during the shiva week with a friendly listening ear.
Once the shiva week is over, please contact the Shul Office and let us know who can drop back the chairs and books, and when. This would ideally be within office hours, or during the evening minyan when the building is open.
We will then continue to be in touch over the following weeks. If you feel you need more support to deal with your grief, our Community Cares team can signpost you to organisations that can help. Please leave a message on their direct line 020 8863 3000 or you can email [email protected].
Stone settings
You may want to start thinking about organising a stone setting once you are feeling up to it. Please be back in touch with the Burial Society and they will help you prepare. We ask that you contact the Shul Office as soon as you have a date, so that Rabbi Sam can make sure he is available and we can get it in the diary. If another community is officiating please still let us know about the date, so that we can add it to the diary and share the information with the Belmont Community.
The Shul is here to help at this difficult time. Please don't hesitate to be in touch.
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