“Most New Zealanders seem to hold some form of belief in post-mortem existence. Faced with death an existential niggle emerges, prompting a desire for a belief, however rudimentary. The dead cannot be allowed to simply cease to exist. As quoted earlier, Hedtke expressed this very thought: ‘When we are faced with the death of a person that we love, it is a horribly difficult thought for most people that they will never again have this person in their lives.’ What I outline now are patterns of belief that I have observed presented as I have co-created celebrant-led funerals as well as working with families preparing for Church funerals. They also appear in Death and In Memoriam notices as well as tribute pages on the Internet. They do not represent the full spectrum, but indicate how some respond to the question ‘what next?’”
From Chapter 4 — What Comes Next? of Earthed in Hope: Dying, Death and Funerals – A Pakeha Anglican Perspective. By Alister G. Hendery.