Latest Death Cafe News
Death Cafe write up: Belleville, IL Death Cafe
Posted by maggieboone on April 26, 2017, 10:46 a.m.
Belleville Death Café Summary 4222017
The summary for this meeting contains a lot of information (either by attachment or websites listed). Our discussions were varied and all pertained to internment or inurnment as well as ways to memorialize our dead loved ones. The information is by no means, legal advice and should only be used for educational purposes. That is fitting considering the purpose behind the Death Café is to educate individuals about death to dispel avoiding or fearing aspects of death. When that happens, one can then proceed with living. Death is as natural and inevitable as birth.
Here are the educational materials promised. I am working ...
Hi
Our first death cafe is being held on 13th May and we're wondering whether we should have name labels available? Anyone else done this? Good idea or not?
We have three facilitators who we thought should wear name labels, but not sure if attendees would want to.
Death Cafe write up: Swindon Death Cafe
Posted by Sue Holden on April 24, 2017, 5:31 a.m.
A well attended meeting which discussed what if you had an envelope with the date and time of your death inside, would you open it? I think the balnce was just about in the favour of no but it was agreed that we should make the most of our present lives anyway.
We also had a question asked about inheritnce tax and after life planning especially as new laws were coming in regarding inheritance tax.
Next meeting Tuesday 9th May in Dying Matters Awareness week.
Death Cafe write up: Death Cafe in Mungia, Bizkaia
Posted by Naomi on April 23, 2017, 6:15 p.m.
The death cafe was attended by 15 people. It was the first event of this kind in the region and people were not sure what to expect. Conversation flowed and in the evaluation at the end in general people felt that it was a good idea and people felt that they had had a safe space to be able to discuss how they felt, their ideas and beliefs. We discussed books and movies. People talked about personal experiences and how that has changed how they see death. We talked about death as taboo and how death is dealt with in schools. One person asked the group to share ...
Practitioners question: journalists at Death Cafe events
Posted by hjyoung on April 21, 2017, 6:02 p.m. 3 comments
I will be hosting my first Death Cafe next week and a journalist has asked if she can visit to write a story about the event. I appreciate what you've posted on this website about journalists at the sessions but I'm wondering if people who attend the event ...
Death Cafe write up: Death Cafe in White River Junction, VT
Posted by Cynthia Stadler on April 10, 2017, 3:33 p.m.
I realized this was scheduled for Easter Sunday, so we are meeting the following weekend.
This is a great group- we have regulars and new people. lively and fun.
The April meeting we will be joined by a group og interested dartmouth Students!!
Death Cafe write up: Monmouth County Death Cafe
Posted by Beth Almerini on April 10, 2017, 12:03 p.m.
Nourishing conversations, tasty treats, happy laughter, gentle disagreements, new participants, and many points of view charactericized this meeting. This was a more intimate group than at our last Death Cafe and the conversation was a bit deeper. The newer participants were in their 30s and had a great deal to contribute. We all enjoyed the conversation so much, we've decided to meet again in May!
Death Cafe write up: Death Cafe SE Portland
Posted by Christine Borchert on April 7, 2017, 3:03 p.m.
April 7th turned out to be a pretty major windstorm but that didn't keep the 2 guests from traveling 45+ minutes to attend.
The conversation flowed really well after the introduction.
We talked about protecting each other from sadness around dying.
We talked about how to offer the opportunity to talk about a loss with a friend.
We talked about how to be okay with not being everything to everyone and how to prioritize our needs without feeling selfish.
We shared our stories of loved ones who died, shed a few tears and left feeling like kindred spirits who just spent an hour and a half together ...
New Blog post: Because I could not stop for Death
Posted by Fustbariclation on April 7, 2017, 4:57 a.m. 1 comment
Because I could not stop for Death
Because I could not stop for Death – He kindly stopped for me – The Carriage held but just Ourselves – And Immortality. We slowly drove – He knew no haste And I had put away My labor and my leisure too, For His Civility – We passed the School, where Children strove At Recess – in the Ring – We passed the Fields of Gazing Grain – We passed the Setting ...
Death Cafe write up: Belleville, IL Death Cafe
Posted by maggieboone on April 3, 2017, 12:53 p.m.
3252017 Belleville Death Café Summary
We had another great discussion. One thing that came up with one of the participants was the idea of saying, “He’s dead” did not feel quite natural (and maybe in my opinion uncomfortable anxiety on both ends of that conversation) and the preferred reference was “passed away” or “passed on”. Where did these euphemisms originate and why? The rational attitude is not fear of death or a desire to put it off for as long as possible, but perhaps to make it more comfortable to talk about it. What happens when a loved one has died and someone calls or asks about ...
Resource: The Five Invitations: Discovering What Death Can Teach Us About Living Fully.
Posted by Kathleen W on April 3, 2017, 11:22 a.m.
"It is the impermanence of life that gives us perspective. As we come in contact with life's precarious nature, we also come to appreciate its preciousness. Then we don't wan to wast a minute... Death is a good companion on the road to living well and dying without ...
New Blog post: The Exeter Death Cafe
Posted by Alizoun@alid.co.uk on April 2, 2017, 4:06 p.m. 3 comments
WHY WE ADORE BEING THE EXETER DEATH CAFÉ HOSTS (and we don’t think we are weird!). WE’D LOVE TO SEE YOU THERE
Gina Awad and Aly Dickinson love hosting Death Cafes. We do, we do! We joined forces in 2015 to run the first Exeter Death Café. It seemed like a natural partnership with Gina being the Founder of the Exeter Action Dementia Alliance having done so much to make Exeter a Dementia ...
Death Cafe write up: Albany WA Death Cafe
Posted by Albany WA Death Cafe on March 31, 2017, 9:27 a.m.
Nice change of scene for today's gathering - we had a picnic at Allambie Park Natural Burial Area. Around eighteen of us got together, complete with chairs, tables (even a lace tablecloth) and of course, our Thermoses and cake.
Given the location, it's not surprising that the discussion today largely centred on funeral options, including relative costs, the range of caskets available and build-your-own coffin projects.
We talked at length about Natural Earth Burial - what it is (interment in a fully biodegradable coffin, with no synthetic materials, in a relatively shallow, minimally marked grave), how it came about in our region (extensive lobbying around 6-7 years ago ...
Death Cafe write up: Cheddar Death Cafe
Posted by elizabethherridge on March 31, 2017, 7:14 a.m.
This was a lively, interesting Death Cafe. Full of laughter. Good cake. Interesting subjects. 21 attendees, split into three groups. With hindsight we would have moved around halfway, but it was a learning curve. Hope to have another one in the not too distant future. Conversation flowed easily and we had lots of literature for people to pick up... like, Is Your Green Burial Really Green, etc. Useful tool is the Good Funeral Guide. Topics covered a large range from euthanasia, roadside shrines, who do you want present at your death, end of life care, end of life care plans, DNR and many more. We used this website ...
New Blog post: Three Thought-Provoking Death Practices From Around The World
Posted by ash_stevens on March 30, 2017, 5:26 p.m. 3 comments
The ideology of death is a fascinating thing. It may seem that there is only one way of viewing it and conducting the process, but the ideas we’re immersed in are not universal. The beliefs and practices surrounding death will vary by country, culture, region, and religion/philosophy. At first, these death rituals may appear strange, but when you explore them deeper, the strangeness takes new form. Consider these three rituals from across the ...