Live streaming lets mourners view funerals from afar

ORLANDO, Fla. – Thousands of people around the globe wanted to pay their respects to Campus Crusade for Christ co-founder Vonette Bright when she died just before Christmas, but only 1,200 could actually be in the sanctuary at First Presbyterian Church of Orlando.

So the church transmitted a live stream of the service over the Internet, and mourners as far away as Canada, South America, Europe, Asia and Australia could hear the eulogies, hymns and prayers.

As technology has revolutionized the way people share happy events such as graduations and birthdays, it's also changing the way people mourn, with video streaming a growing option.

"I think for people who can't travel, it's a great gift because they want to feel a part of it," said Judy Lewis, who coordinated Bright's service.

Northland church in Longwood, Fla., also makes memorial services available online.

"There was a point where if you wanted your funeral to be broadcast, you had to be a princess," said Nathan Clark, online minister at Northland, remembering the 1997 funeral of Princess Diana. "At this point, anybody might look for ways to do this."

Clark himself used Skype to lead a South Dakota funeral service a few years ago because he couldn't travel.

But it's not necessary for the church or funeral home to be involved. Mourners can record a service with their cellphones or tablets and upload it to YouTube without the cost of hiring a videographer.

Sometimes they use the Skype or FaceTime video services, a particular benefit for relatives in the military, shut-ins and those unable to travel on short notice, said Rob Bittle, funeral director at Collison Carey Hand Funeral Home in Winter Garden, Fla.

Not everyone is on board with the trend.

Baldwin-Fairchild Oaklawn Park Cemetery & Funeral Home in Sanford, Fla., toyed with the idea of offering live-streamed funerals, but its parent corporation decided against it because there wasn't a reliable way to control who viewed the video and how it ultimately was distributed, creating a potential liability, funeral director Tracy Jackman said.

"You'll see it all the time," she said. "People posting pictures on Facebook even before the service is over. Families are devastated."

"It's really a marketing tool for the funeral home," Owens said.

A Canadian company, DistantLink, is about to release an app that will allow funeral processions and graveside services to be recorded on a cellphone or tablet and viewed online in real time, said chief executive Dale Moses.

Videographers also are looking for ways to expand their services. Drones appear to hold a lot of potential in that regard.

When Jason "Grunt" Branch, 35, a member of the Central Florida Leathernecks motorcycle club, died in October and his ashes where entombed, a drone captured video of dozens of bikers assembled to pay their respects, a long shot of the grave markers and the 21-gun salute. The video, integrated with still pictures of Branch, was set to music and posted on YouTube.