Death Cafe write-ups
Montpelier Death Cafe Write up
Posted by MontpelierDeathCafe on Aug. 26, 2014, 1:42 p.m.
Making the decision to attend a Death Café is one that should be applauded. While some attendees are eager for a space to openly talk about death, it still takes a certain courage for anyone to confront what many think of as life’s ultimate mystery.
As we talked this month it became clear that for many, death, perhaps because it is inevitable, is not really what scares us. Dying does and not knowing what comes next is what is truly unsettling. We have a choice about whether or not to be afraid of death, or we can at least do our best to condition ourselves to the ...
21st March, 2019:
Weekly meetings are now occuring around Malvern. In Bromyard, Ledbury, soon Worcester. The evening meetings are proving very popular. A comfy lounge, friends and strangers, talking, listening. Connecting. In what usually stops a conversation dead we find so many ...
2nd PSG Death Cafe Write up
Posted by Sherry Gilles on Aug. 23, 2014, 1:32 p.m.
Sherry Gilles and Raymond T. Anderson offered Death Cafe to participants at Pagan Spirit Gathering for the second year in a row. Sherry is a Certified Death Midwife and Raymond T. Anderson is a musician and historian.
Topics touched on were end of life care including the work of ministers and death doulas, hospice and personal experiences of the eleven attendees.
This Death Cafe was welomed and well-attended. Because this event took place at a time when two other workshops were scheduled many people also contacted me before and after wishing there were more time slots available and initiated their own conversations with Sherry about death and dying ...
Denver Death Cafe-July Write up
Posted by Anita Larson on Aug. 21, 2014, 2:25 p.m. 2 comments
Denver Death Café Summary
July 20, 2014
Many thanks to Mike and Lee Heflebower with Heflebower Funeral Services (family owned) for hosting the July Denver Death Cafe and providing refreshments.
A film crew from Ivanhoe Productions taped & filmed the entire discussion. They also interviewed selected people before and after the meeting. They were very professional and their presence did not inhibit the open, respectful dialogue. They are independent TV producers who sell their stories to different TV stations and news media, so I will post a link when it airs.
We tried a different format this time. Each attendee wrote a question on a piece of paper and ...
The Aug. 17th Death Cafe was well attended and delicous desserts and beverages were enjoyed by all. Evaluation comments included:
"The discussion and different perspectives reminding us all to be alive and enjoy life!"
"Informative, friendly and safe! Thank you for making these timely events."
"Everyone was engaged in the topics and the atmosphere was accepting, enlightening and lively."
Highcliffe Death Cafe Write up
Posted by Lis Horwich on Aug. 20, 2014, 3:14 p.m.
2nd meeting of Highcliffe Death Cafe with 2 new members, one who travelled from the other side of Dorset, 2 spirits were with us too. We missed several of you, but will hopefully see you at future meetings.
Many topics were discussed; we very much talked about the great connection we all feel in the 4th dimension and exciting changes taken place. Again today we were able to sit outside in the brilliant English summer. It was a very enjoyable afternoon.
Death Cafe of Metro Denver Write up
Posted by Death Cafe Metro Denver on Aug. 19, 2014, 9:12 a.m. 1 comment
Death Cafe - Sydney Write up
Posted by April Lewis on Aug. 19, 2014, 1:25 a.m.
This was my first visit to a Death Café meeting and,having been recommended by a friend, I had a vague sense of what it would be like—a small social group of people, drinking coffee and talking about death.
Death is a big subject, possibly the BIG subject, and with so many aspects to it—dying, spirituality, home deaths, loss of loved ones and pets, recent celebrity deaths and funerals being just the tip of the iceberg (maybe the sinking of the Titanic would come up)—it seemed we would have no trouble finding something to talk about.
Among the 10 or so people of varying ages ...
Death Cafe Des Moines, IA Write up
Posted by Carmen Elliott on Aug. 18, 2014, 10:51 a.m.
Amanda the Panda Family Grief Center hosted Des Moines' first Death Cafe this past Saturday! It had a lot of challenges, but also a lot of rewards.
We sent out the message via Facebook (our page & an event page), Twitter, Pinterest, & Instagram, as well as emails to grief services state-wide, our program committee, word-of-mouth, and using the event button on the Death Cafe Website. We had LOTS of interest, and by Saturday night, we had about 30 RSVPs!
Our challenges were all venue-related. We had reserved the rooftop, but when we arrived, we were locked out, and all of the chairs we stacked & padlocked together. We couldn't ...
Death Cafe Seattle - Greenwood Write up
Posted by Seattle Death Guyz on Aug. 17, 2014, 5:59 p.m.
-The Denial of Death. A 1973 work of psychology and philosophy by Ernest Becker. It was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction in 1974.
-I Thought My Father Was God: And Other True Tales from NPR ...
Montpelier Death Cafe Write up
Posted by MontpelierDeathCafe on Aug. 17, 2014, 5:56 p.m.
We often open our meetings by asking the attendees what brings them to our Death Café. Hearing the broad range of answers is inspiring; some people admit they just don’t know, others share personal stories. But the common thread in all answers is the desire to not hide from death. As a group we feel safe bringing our thoughts about death “into the light”.
As this month’s meeting turned towards a desire not to be afraid of death and how to prepare to die well, we actually talked about how death isn’t the only thing we need to bring into the light. Most of us ...
Death Cafe Louisville Write up
Posted by Justin Magnuson on Aug. 17, 2014, 3:45 p.m.
Death Cafe Louisville hosted its third cafe in the community room of Rainbow Blossom. Like the previous cafes there was a large mix of ages, interests, and attendance was between 15-20.
We split into two groups and it seems each group had completely different conversations. The group I facilitated talked about everything from books, to cultural expectations, a group members recent bereavement, and a young man who is a pallbearer at the local potter's field.
The other group talked about personal loss as well, but also spirits and they seemed to laugh more than my group. We are realizing the acoustics of the room make it difficult ...
Death Cafe in Maple Ridge, BC Write up
Posted by Death Cafe - Fremantle on Aug. 16, 2014, 11:48 p.m.
As a long-time fellow Death Cafe facilitator, I was really curious about what it would be like to sit in on a Death Cafe run by someone else. And this wasn't just 'someone else,' but a kindred spirit in the facilitation of death as positive inspiration.
Stephen Garrett and I seem to be holding up the planet from both ends (him here in Canada and I in Australia) with our passion for all things death and dying. We have our own journeys that have brought us to facilitating Death Cafe's but it seems that our message is the same. We both believe that speaking about death ...
Death Cafe Senegal Write up
Posted by Death Cafe Castlemaine on Aug. 15, 2014, 10:42 p.m. 2 comments
Death Cafe was well received here in Saint-Louis with those I could explain it to in my broken French! I did find it a little difficult to broach the subject of death with locals as well as find people who could speak good enough English to participate in the Death Cafe.
However on the day we had an enthusiastic contingent of five from Finland, Senegal and Australia all keen to explore death related issues. A particularly interesting discussion revolved around the rituals and beliefs of Muslim burial in Senegal. Much of our discussion was art related, with photography, film and visual art references exploring ways of grieving and ...
the Rockland Maine Death Cafe! Write up
Posted by plindquist on Aug. 15, 2014, 8:12 a.m.
Muffins and Tea at the Death Cafe by
> Jory Squibb
>
> I'm heading out to Michigan to spend time
> with my mother. She's almost 99 and I'm
> sure to hear her tell me every day, "Jory, I'm so tired of
> this. I just want to get 'out of here' ". When I
> first began to hear this mantra a few years ago, my
> engineer's mind tried to figure out how I could specifically
> respond to this apparently heart-felt plea from one I dearly
> love.
> I thought of getting some sort of 'final
> pill' from Oregon, where such assistance might be
> legal. I also talked with ...