This holiday season, Krause Funeral Home invites military families in the Milwaukee area to create "Messages of Love" for their service man or woman stationed far from home via a free-of-charge live Webcast.

Military families can bring as many family members as they would like to Krause Funeral Home and make a free, 20-minute web cast.

Krause will send an e-mail invitation to the active duty family member, inviting him or her to view the Webcast live. However, if he or she is unable to enjoy the live cast, they will be able to view the recording at their convenience and / or have a DVD shipped to them, wherever they are stationed.

The Webcasts will be archived on the Krause Funeral Home Web site for 90 days following the recording so they can be viewed as many times as the soldier or the military family would like.

"We know that at this time of year, people are more keenly aware of the absence of their loved ones," said Mark Krause, president of Krause Funeral Homes. "It's our hope that we can ease their heartache by using this cutting-edge technology to bring families together."

This is the first year Krause Funeral Home offers the "Messages of Love" program.

Earlier this year, Krause introduced funeral Webcasting as a way to help bring all family members together at a difficult time. If family members or friends are unable to attend a funeral, they can view the funeral live from their computer screen.

The "Messages of Love" program provides a natural extension of this service by using Webcasting tools that enable military families a chance to connect with their loved one serving abroad.

"This is a great opportunity for Milwaukee military families to reach out to loved ones through a very special, limited-time program," says Christen Henke, representing Krause Funeral Home.

Krause Funeral Home is a family-owned business with three locations: 9000 W. Capitol Dr., 7001 W. Brown Deer Rd. and 12401 W. National Ave. Krause offers traditional services, cremation and grief therapy. Personalized funerals and a variety of extra services are available, as well.

The holiday "Messages of Love" service will be offered through Wednesday, Dec. 31. For more information or to schedule an appointment, please call Sue Dollishly at (414) 464-4640 or
email to funeraldirector@krausefuneralhome.com.

"We would prefer families make the Webcast at the Capitol Drive location, but if that's not possible, we will attempt to find a way to make it work at another location," says Henke.