Death Cafe write-ups
Death Cafe Wellington NZ Write up
Posted by Sophia Tara on April 28, 2014, 12:08 p.m.
This was our 2nd Death Cafe in Wellington NZ “the coolest little capital in the world” according to Lonely Planet.
We opened by creating a sacred space with an indigenous Maori Song-Blessing and a one minute “silence of presence.” Once again the beautiful church venue afforded the perfect peaceful space fit for reverent dialogue on death, dying and the beauty of Life.
Attended by 12 kindred spirits, quietly intent with curious anticipation. Introductions revealed why participants attended the Death Cafe. From sharing grief on the sudden death of a beloved mother, missing out on being invited to a friend’s funeral, mourning the loss of a dearly ...
Evaluation of Death Café in Waterloo Region on Sunday March 30 2014
This was our second Death Café in Kitchener ON Canada. We had 15 in attendance.
We continued having a live musician who only played as folks were arriving and in the 15 minute break in our two hour café. Nine of the 15 were new and the rest had attended the first one (in November).
In the evaluations, every single person reported that they felt “very comfortable”!
A couple of folks wanted longer conversations! And a couple wanted shorter introduction at the beginning by the facilitators! All good signs of engaging conversations!
Here are specific comments ...
Windy City Death Cafe Write up
Posted by Kathy Miller, LCPC on April 27, 2014, 1:26 p.m.
Ten guests gathered for our 3rd Death Cafe just as the sun set on a glorious Spring day in Chicago. Among our guests were a 90-year-old WWII veteran, a retired hospice nurse, a PhD who left his decades-long position in academia to follow his passion, an HR executive, and an artist and near-death experiencer in her 7th decade. We covered a wide range of conversational topics over tea and zucchini brownies, including end-of-life care, health care directives, having "the conversation" with loves ones, burial options, personal experiences with dying, and whether we'd live differently if we knew what happened after we die. One guest spoke about his ...
Death Cafe Bayswater North, Victoria, Australia Write up
Posted by Annie Whitlocke, Leanne Skipsey, Cherie Scott on April 27, 2014, 2:28 a.m.
We held this Death cafe in a lovely community cafe. As people came in we welcomed them and soon everyone was feeling at home.
As is normal, not many silent lulls during the conversations, we had so many interesting people and more and more depth of experienc and knowledge shared.
Death Cafe Marin Write up
Posted by Nancy Rhine on April 24, 2014, 3:40 p.m. 1 comment
Last night, I was so very privileged to host my first Death Cafe in Marin at the San Anselmo Interfaith Counseling Center.
We had 23 participants - mostly strangers to each other - who dove right in to sharing their deep and authentic stories, truths, courage and humor.
Thank you to all of the participants, my cohost Teresa, the folks who brought cake :^) and everybody who filled out surveys at the end. We met for two hours.
Thanks to Lizzy who is always so encouraging! We adhered to the Death Cafe guidelines which I love - no agenda, no set topic, no top-down presentations, etc. And the magic did happen.
The ...
Death Cafe at Cafe Rouge in Hampstead, London Write up
Posted by Josefine Speyer on April 24, 2014, 2:32 p.m.
At the March Death Café in Hampstead a small group of people attended, but we were slightly up in numbers compared to January and February. We had 11 guests: 8 women, 3 men. Six people came for the first time. Five people had come before, four of them up to 8 times. We were three facilitators, one for each table.
This was the eleventh Death Café at Café Rouge in Hampstead. As always, it was a deeply moving experience and a very stimulating evening. See feedback below.
In January February and March we did not ask people to book to attend Death Café. In May we will hold ...
Another gloriously sunny Sunday afternoon, and it was good to meet visitors from near and far. It never ceases to surprise me how long people are prepared to travel to an event. I guess it shows how determined they feel about the importance of sharing this conversation, and contributing to a greater knowledge and a feeling of ease. We were very pleased to welcome a Funeral Director and a visitor who plans to run her own Death Cafe. We shared views on embalming, humanist funerals, discussions with family, green funerals, bereavement, personal choices, hopes, fears. What a warm, supportive and remarkablely open meeting. A joy to be part ...
Death Cafe at Gertrude Contemporary Write up
Posted by Annie Whitlocke on April 23, 2014, 7:07 p.m.
We had nine people attend this Death Cafe that was held at the Gertrude St Contemporary Art Studio. Four artists attended and a journalist. There was a couple who said they were pushed to come by their daughter, another death cafe facilitator who had time to share their own stories and a designer of garments for the deceased. After climbing three flights of stairs, not easy for one lady who had a new hip transplant and a gentleman who was rehabiltating from a recent stroke. But everyone arrived, albeit a bit puffed. Note to myself, make sure wheeelchair access next time.
It was in the artists studio so ...
March Forth Tucson Death Cafe Write up
Posted by tucsondeathcafe on April 22, 2014, 6:31 p.m.
Tuesday night, March 4th, we 'marched forth' and marked the 548th Death Cafe in the world and 18th for Tucson.
Participation continues to grow at the new midtown location at Big Moe's coffee shop. 34 people attended. Frequent participants, Susan and Steven, were guest facilitators. Kristine and Cindy got the night off, sort of, and had the opportunity to relax into discussion. After reminding everyone that any kind of participation is optional, folks had the opportunity to introduce themselves before breaking into small groups. Susan and Steven had both recently experienced the deaths of pets and had prepared some questions around death of animal companions, if that ...
Special Edition! Tucson Death Cafe Write up
Posted by tucsondeathcafe on April 22, 2014, 6:19 p.m.
March 9th Special Edition:
Sunday afternoon, March 9th, Tucson featured a special edition Death Cafe at Marana Mortuary. People gathered in the mortuary meeting space for discussion. About 16 folks were in attendance. People enjoyed refreshments and easy open talk across the spacious room. Some things that were shared were anecdotes about burial experiences, differences among various religions and cultures, and needs that are served through funerals and other kinds of events that acknowledge death.
April Fools Edition:
Tucson Death Cafe met for the19th time the evening of April 1st. No fooling! The crowd showing up at Moe's continues to grow and it seems of note that ...
Death Cafe at Cafe Rouge in Hampstead, London Write up
Posted by Josefine Speyer on April 21, 2014, 11:44 a.m.
Jon, would you please delete this listing? Thank you!
Death Cafe in the Couv Write up
Posted by MeriNW (Meredith Graff) on April 16, 2014, 7:53 p.m.
We had a great turn out for the first Death Cafe in the 'Couv on Saturday, April 12, 2014! We munched on red devil's food cupcakes and caramel turtle brownies while sharing our thoughts on death. We started by listening the sound of the singing bowl and "Seasons in the Sun," (Terry Jacks) and ended with "Spirit in the Sky" (Norman Greenbaum). One participant suggested we devote a death cafe to just talking about pet deaths.
We are forming a planning committee for our next Death Cafe in the 'Couv in July, 2014! Contact us if you are interested in being on the committee!
Denver Death Cafe March Write up
Posted by Anita Larson on April 16, 2014, 4:09 p.m.
Denver Death Café Summary March 16, 2014
Many thanks to Mike Heflebower with Heflebower Funeral Services in Highlands Ranch, CO for hosting the March Denver Death Cafe and providing refreshments. Updates and announcements are posted regularly on our Facebook page so like us at www.facebook.com/denverdeathcafe
IN THE NEWS
Here’s a link to Kevin Torres Storyteller’s Feature on the Denver Death Café: http://www.9news.com/story/news/local/storytellers/2014/03/10/storytellers-death-cafe-denver/6236523/
Denver Death Café is listed in Westword Best of Denver 2014. This is an nnual publication: http://www.westword.com/bestof/2014/award/best-place-to-contemplate-death-with-others-2787731/
At first the idea of ...
Yet again it never ceases to amaze me! People have a quest for personal knowledge & understanding. Never more than now, it seems. The time is right & Jon and his Ma have been an inspiration to us all.
Sarasota's First Death Cafe Write up
Posted by Continuity of Life on April 15, 2014, 2:37 p.m.
As it was our 1st Death Café experience as facilitators and participants we were curious and excited as to how it might unfold. We kept it true to DC format and opened with a brief explanation of what a Death Café was, the founder Jon Underwood, and the details about the organization itself. We then went over what a DC is not… a grief support meeting, a place for self-promotion or a meeting with an agenda.
What an amazing event! Sarasota’s 1st Death Café was an astonishing success. 20 people were in the room aging from 11 to 76 and from all walks of life. We had ...