Death Cafe write-ups
Flagstaff Death Cafe Write up
Posted by aleia@furthershore.org on July 4, 2014, 8:50 p.m.
The May 17th Cafe was attended by 29 enthusiastic patrons who enjoyed pineapple upside cake and round table conversations. Here are some snippets that patrons addressed:
*many perspectives on a 'good' or 'bad' death
*welcoming or resisting death and complexities of expressing that to family or friends
* the idea of valuing life above quality of life and how that shapes decision making and choices
*various fears about 'saying goodbye' and how to do that with grace
Some "take away" thoughts:
"When I am dying, take care of yourself so I don't have to."
"When I am present to death, life is so much fuller."
"At the Death ...
Flagstaff Death Cafe Write up
Posted by aleia@furthershore.org on July 4, 2014, 8:50 p.m. 1 comment
The June 28th Cafe was attended by 31 participants aged 20 to 82! They enjoyed gf German chocolate brownies, lemon and blueberry scones with lemon curd and whipped cream along side spirited conversations. This Parlor style gathering was for 8 groups of 3 or 4 people. A large sharing circle at the end of the group included this wonderful observation about Death Cafe:
"Today, as we share, I am reminded of a tree dropping its' leaves in death to then provide enrichment for new life."
Death Cafe in Winnipeg, Canada Write up
Posted by Death Cafe Winnipeg on July 2, 2014, 10:35 a.m.
Finally, a warm and sunny summer evening in Winnipeg ! About 35 people attended our 3rd Cafe on June 17th. We had several new faces in the group which was great.
Participants shared stories and thoughts about a wide range of topics. There were a lot of questions about Living Wills and we will provide some information at our next event in July.
The Temple Shalom provided us a great space, fresh fruit and some amazing toffee cookies!
Death Cafe at Gertrude Contemporary Write up
Posted by Annie Whitlocke on July 1, 2014, 3:31 a.m.
The Citizen
Friday 27 June 2014
On death and dying and the Death Cafe
Words and pictures by Danielle Kutchel
People are talking about death over a cuppa. But it’s not all doom and gloom, writes Danielle Kutchel.
On a sunny afternoon in Fitzroy, up three steep and rickety flights of stairs, an unlikely group of people meet in a whitewashed studio room overlooking busy Gertrude Street.
There are people from all walks of life here; Buddhists, mixing with atheists and sceptics, sharing cakes and cups of tea. Though disparate in background and outlook, they are united by a reality that confronts ultimately all creatures — death. And ...
Our small, but consistent Death Cafe group had another very informative meeting. As we are not really getting that many new members and we pretty much know each other's story, we decided that for our June Meeting we will each watch the movie "Wit" with Emma Thompson before the meeting
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8IyEsnzH1uE
Highcliffe Death Cafe Write up
Posted by lis.horwich on June 26, 2014, 9:02 a.m.
A very unique selection of women were talking about death and dying; we were a soul midwife, a counsellor, a Macmillan carer, one had been touched by death in her family many times (and near death), another has always worked in a caring role among dying people etc. We shared many outlooks on death and all wish the way death is being dealth with in this country in hospitals would be changed very soon - we are looking for the individual to be listened to, the soul to emerge and shine!
Our death café is a living mirror of the conversation. When we met yesterday for our sixth monthly meeting, the group had familiar faces and new ones. As we introduced ourselves and the conversation started there were themes that have come up before and new ideas.
Last night fear seemed to speak to everyone in the room, or rather why fear? Isn’t fear, after all, a choice? Who decided that death had to be negative and scary? Is it possible to not only accept death, but view it as a reward, a possibility?
These opening questions led to an inspired conversation about how fear of death limits ...
Death Cafe at Cafe Rouge, Hampstead, London, UK Write up
Posted by Josefine Speyer on June 24, 2014, 12:24 a.m. 1 comment
Our 13th Death Café was held on 9 June 2014 at Café Rouge in Hampstead, We had a full house! Sharon, Philomena, Heidi, Bernie and Caroline facilitated tables with me. It was a good evening. We had two journalists attending, Conxa writes for El Mundo and Anna wrote an article for Vice magazine online. There is a link to Anna’s article at the end of this write up. Conxa’s article is not published yet. The format for the evening was as before in two parts: To begin with conversations around small tables, each with a facilitator who also takes part as a participant. And after a ...
Death Cafe at Cafe Rouge in Hampstead, London Write up
Posted by Josefine Speyer on June 23, 2014, 11:41 p.m.
The first Death Cafe we held at this venue was over a year ago in April 2013. On 12 May 2014 we celebrated our first year of Death Café at Café Rouge during 'Dying Matters Awareness Week'. (No Death Cafe in April this year.) Four journalists attended this Death Cafe, bringing with them two photographers. Almost everyone was willing to be photographed. The event was a lively occasion. Every seat was taken. Over the year we have built quite a community of people attending regularly, several of them willing to facilitate one of the tables.
Sadly one regular attendee who was much cherished had died. She had ...
Filmed Death Cafe at Cafe Rouge, Hampstead, London, UK Write up
Posted by Josefine Speyer on June 23, 2014, 11:40 p.m.
We hold monthly Death Cafes at Cafe Rouge in Hampstead. April would have been our first anniversary there, but there was no Death Cafe in April this year. So our we celebrated the anniversary in May. The date fell on Monday 12 May and was part of Dying Matters Awareness Week 2014. So we advertised it as part of that and held it during the afternoon. That Death ACfe got fully booked. This, second Death Cafe of the day, our 13th Death Cafe, was held in the evening of 12 May 2014 and specially put on so it could be filmed for a South Korean TV documentary ‘Dying ...
It was a pleasure to attend this meeting. Interesting viewpoints from everyone present.
I spoke of an obituary in the NYT for a woman who ended her life as she neared the end of Alzeimer's and saw a link here on the Death Cafe site. Here is a story from NPR about her: http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2014/06/23/323330486/how-a-womans-plan-to-kill-herself-helped-her-family-grieve
Thank you Nancy for hosting and I hope to see the group next month. It is so important for us to talk about death and "mainstream" it so that some of the taboos and fears that surround it can start to lessen for ...
Ann Arbor Death Cafe Write up
Posted by Merilynne Rush on June 23, 2014, 10:54 a.m. 1 comment
We had a particularly wonderful cafe last Saturday. Eighteen people attended and most (13) were there for the first time. Here's the follow up email I sent out to those who attended:
Dear Friends,
We had our 5th Lawrence Death Cafe at Personal Power Pilates Studio this past Saturday and were fortunate to have a reporter from the Lawrence Journal World (our local newspaper) with us to write a story. Richard Gwin, lead photographer for the L.J.World also came and took many photographs we plan to share on our Lawrence Death Cafe, Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lawrence-Death-Cafe/520304204753986
soon. The article will be coming out on Sunday, June 29th, 2014. Since starting the Lawrence Death Cafe in February, 2014 each monthly gathering has been well attended, inspiring and rewarding. We hope our new library will be a ...
Death Cafe of Metro Denver Write up
Posted by Robert Mitton on June 22, 2014, 3:22 p.m. 1 comment
I only live one block away from Strange Grounds, but holding such a meeting so early in the day, as was done today, is just too early for me to make it there.
Hopefully the next one will be later in the afternoon or in the evening!
Today the entire group consisted of newcomers, gathering for their first experience of a Death Cafe. And what an interesting mixture of thoughts and experiences we shared. Topics discussed were: creative ways to celebrate and remember a loved one, with special focus on keeping memories alive for young children throughout their lives; spiritual beliefs, spiritualism, experiencing the loss of a child, how we explain the complex issue of death to a child, and when to discuss this; why we find death so difficult to talk about, helpful and unhelpful responses in bereavement.
I am deeply grateful for the generous sharing of thoughts and experiences today, and look forward ...