Death Cafe write-ups
Well, we have met again. This evening was a chilly night for the Sebastian Florida area. We had a group of six, five women and one man. This was our first evening meeting at the local library. The environment was quiet and comfortably warm. A happy skull with a hat and sunglasses has become our mascot, we call him D.C.. This in and of itself livened up the conversation. Was it ghoulish and/or disrespectful to have such a centerpiece. We discussed life and death as a continuum, not a black and white cut off. The discussion of near death experience was revisited. Each expressed some type ...
Death Cafe San Francisco Write up
Posted by Shelley Adler on Jan. 6, 2014, 10:56 a.m. 2 comments
We had a great launch to the Zen Hospice Project Death Cafes! We met at the ZHP Guest House for tea, Bundt cake, and lively discussion about death. Our 30 attendees were so enthusiastic that we've decided to host quarterly San Francisco death cafes. Please join us--all are welcome (after an RSVP)!
Death Cafe - Fremantle, WA - Special Event - 'End of Year, End of Life' Write up
Posted by Death Cafe - Fremantle on Jan. 5, 2014, 8:55 p.m.
I am so pleased that the number of participants is finally getting up there! The last two Death Cafe's here in Fremantle had 14 and 12 participants! This is in part due to the recent media coverage by ABC News and word getting out via word of mouth.
I believe that although the experiences/fears/stories are always unique to the person sharing, there is a common conversation that emerges.
We all get intimate with each other very quickly when having a conversation that is as deeply felt as that of the death of a loved one, imagined or lived.
Most of the people that come are ...
Death Cafe, Brisbane, Queensland Write up
Posted by Beth OBrien on Jan. 4, 2014, 2:12 p.m.
It was a pleasure to meet with a great group of people so close to Christmas to reflect on the topic of death leading up to this celebration time.
There were some professional people from the palliative care teams of Brisbane and we discussed the lack of available hospice or palliative care in our city. It was interesting to hear how many people died in emergency wards or regular wards, when they could have been cared for in the community if those resources were available.
As usual the topics were amazing and our conversation travelled on some many interesting paths. Some of the discussion topics were as follows ...
Invito a partecipare al Death Cafe, conversazione aperta sulla morte e sul morire Write up
Posted by Elisabetta Lucchi on Dec. 30, 2013, 3:41 p.m.
"All love leads to loss. If we commit ourselves to another person, form an attachment, we will surely have to relinquish that attachment. It may be through death or some other form of separation. Either they leave or you do. That is not the issue, however. What is important is that some time in our life we must face and deal with loss and separation. For some, it may happen in later life, for others it may occur earlier and more frequently. Frequency, however, doesn't make it any easier. When separation occurs, we will grieve, we will suffer. No one is immune. It's the price we ...
Death Cafe Victoria, Canada Write up
Posted by Don Morris on Dec. 27, 2013, 5:22 p.m.
We had a beautiful experience Sunday night Dec 8th! It was our 1st Death Cafe with a small number of peeps and we loved it! Blessed to have Michael Van der Kamp on piano and Katherine Muncaster sing a Diana Ross classic to start the evening off~
The launch of Death Café at the Open Center New York City was well received. Ralph White, a founder of the Open Center and initiator of this location, joined in our conversation. With ten participants in total, we divided into two tables where we shared conversations on loss of loved ones, life after death, our own deaths and how we want to die.
The café at the Open Center can hold a maximum of fifteen and we can see that, in a short period of time, we will be moving to a larger space within the center. The Open Center of New York City is another great addition ...
Valley Death Cafe Write up
Posted by JoyKrauthammer on Dec. 21, 2013, 10:27 p.m.
HI,
First conversation held on Tuesday morning, Dec. 10, 2013 for Valley Death Cafe, was thankfully successful. We had a lot of food! (see photo) I felt supported by all I'd read on Death Cafe site, and grateful, was able to facilitate a smooth meeting. I shared the history of Death Cafe. Event was planned for 2 hours with people who mostly knew each other, and it went for an additional half hour with more questions and thoughts shared.
Evaluation at end was very positive. Only women came who were invited and positive about discussion on end-of-life issues. Same amount of people invited didn't come because ...
Denver Death Cafe December Write up
Posted by Anita Larson on Dec. 18, 2013, 3:12 p.m.
Denver Death Café December Summary
The Denver Death Café continues to attract an intelligent, diverse group of people who are hungry to understand and discuss death. The room was at capacity with those who took time out of their hectic holiday schedules to engage in life-affirming conversation. A few comments and highlights from participants:
“I want to discuss death at a young age so I can live a better life now. I will definitely be here again and will tell my friends.”
“Death is the new sex education. People want to talk about this.”
“Just as birth is a labor, death is a labor. It is hard work ...
Death Café Olympia. Location was as much a part of the experience as the conversation.
On October 24, 2013, a week before the many traditions of Hallow’s Eve, the first Death Café Olympia was held at the downtown Traditions Café and World Folk Art. Known for its community and fair trade practices, the intimate setting of mostly tables for four received high comments and praise. Donations were accepted to cover the donated space, coffee and clean up so generously provided for this event.
About 30 people of the 40 RSVPs attended. The initial 20 spots via a Meetup page - http://www.meetup.com/Death-Cafe-Olympia-WA/ - and Facebook http ...
Death Cafe Ukiah Write up
Posted by Death Cafe Ukiah on Dec. 18, 2013, 9:29 a.m.
Our first meeting had 40 people and was very lively. We got some very good feedback from the participants. Our second cafe had 13 wonderful people who braved frigid weather to come. Quite a contrast between our first experiences.
We will continue to meet the first Saturday of each month. Next meeting is January 4 in the new year.
A Long Island Death Cafe Write up
Posted by nancynancy on Dec. 17, 2013, 12:56 p.m.
We hosted our first Death Cafe on Dec 4 at the lovely Tend Coffee shop in Shirley, NY. We had 10 people attend with an age range from 20 to 70. We played the video from the Death Cafe Website as an introduction to the concept. Everyone in attendance engaged in thoughtful discussion on a wide variety of topics that were inspired by Death. Each attendee expressed an interest in attending future cafe's. All in all I would assess a successful first effort.
Death Cafe Columbia, Maryland-FULL Write up
Posted by toddnraquel on Dec. 17, 2013, 12:44 p.m. 2 comments
Eleven people of diverse backgrounds gathered at the holistic health center Nourishing Journey in Columbia, MD, on Nov. 1st to discuss death in the first Death Cafe to be held in the area. It was most fitting the conversation occurred on the night of All Saints’ Day/Day of the Dead. Several issues were prominent in this lively discussion—our society’s denial of death, the need for a “re-languaging” of terms relating to death and dying in the medical community, the importance of peaceful death for loved ones, the rituals around observance and discussion of death (including the role social media now plays when people inform ...
Northern Alberta Death Cafe Write up
Posted by Northern Alberta Death Cafe on Dec. 16, 2013, 11:59 p.m.
Seven brave souls ventured out this night in nasty COLD weather to share stories and thoughts about DEATH.... Tonight's conversations went from concerns about your wishes being followed after your/our death... what if you specifically ask for a burial and your loved ones think a cremation is the best!! Who do you want to have responsible to make sure these wishes are followed? How to open up a conversation with loved ones about dying, when it is not something they are wanting to talk about!!! Another concern is dying without a will..... family not being so fair with those left behind can be a tragedy on ...
For our first café, we had 20 participants. Aspen and I were very excited as that was the original number we thought we would like! We did only informal word-of-mouth/ emailing promotion and purposefully did not invite any media as it was our first Café.
It was held on a Sunday afternoon in a café open after-hours for us. To set an intentional tone of light, warmth, and nurturing, we began by lighting a hand-rolled beeswax candle, which Linda had made. (We hope to light the same one at subsequent Death Cafes.) We also had live music – 2 local musicians – guitar and ukulele. The musicians played some introductory ...