Death Cafe write-ups
hello everyone, fall is upon us and our gatherings continue bi-monthly. we had a dynamic group this morning at our vero beach setting at the brackett library. some new faces and some return guests. our last gathering resulted in an additional write up in our local press journal paper regarding the cafe'. we think this brought some new faces. again, with angie at the helm, the conversation was left free form. it seems to be working well. there were a total of 13 people today. we are now attracting some younger participants as well. as we all know, death and religion are quite a tangled topic. our direction ...
Invito a partecipare al Death Cafe, conversazione aperta sulla morte e sul morire Write up
Posted by Elisabetta Lucchi on Oct. 19, 2013, 2:21 p.m.
There were eight participants at the seventh Death Café which was held at Elisabetta’s house.
Once again respect, serenity and a desire to listen and share characterized this get together.
During the first part of the discussion, as we explored the theme of death it became clear that for most of those present feelings of serenity were associated with the idea of death, both for believers and non-believers. It was perceived in general as a transformation and a passage to a peaceful place. Mourning, tears and grief are for those who are left behind, especially if the death is sudden and the person is young.
We also ...
Invito a partecipare al Death Cafe, conversazione aperta sulla morte e sul morire Write up
Posted by Elisabetta Lucchi on Oct. 19, 2013, 2:17 p.m.
Our sixth Death Café’ was held this time in the Cappa Café’, a pleasant café’ in an old building right on the river Adige in the historic centre of Verona.
There were six participants and the atmosphere was, as usual, serene and respectful.
The first part of the discussion touched the theme of the fear of death in our society. According to the opinion of those present there are two reasons for this fear: fear of seeing loved ones die suffering from a long drawn out illness and fear deriving from the Catholic religion which cultivates a dread of hell rather than focalizing on a meeting with God ...
Death Cafe in Chicago Write up
Posted by allenm1043 on Oct. 17, 2013, 7:02 p.m. 1 comment
We had a dozen people show up for this first Death Cafe in Oak Park, Illinois.
The Buzz Cafe is a well established local place with great community involvement. They offer the use of space on the second floor (which used to be the owners living quarters) to community groups. They have a web site and a printed monthly newsletter which are used to publicise events.
I bought a dozen gourmet cookies from the Buzz and brought a couple of bottles of wine from home. (With permission.)
We provided name tags and started the event with, "Let's have a quick go-around. Say your first name and what ...
Death Cafe at Cafe Rouge in Hampstead, London Write up
Posted by Josefine Speyer on Oct. 17, 2013, 5:25 a.m. 1 comment
This Death Café held on a pleasant September evening was fully booked – overbooked - but not all 42 people attended and so I think we were pretty much down to 30 or so, the normal capacity for the room.
The evening was wonderful, inspirational, moving and a positive experience all round. Cj Swaby, Liz Wong, Thom Osborn and I each facilitated a table. Halfway through the evening we took a break. We ended the evening with a ‘plenary’. On Thom’s suggestion, we made a large circle, everyone facing into the room so we could see each other. This plenary was a closing circle and a chance for anyone ...
Truth or Consequences Death Cafe Write up
Posted by Gail Rubin, CT on Oct. 14, 2013, 6:07 p.m.
October 13 at Black Cat Books and Coffee in Truth or Consequences, we had 13 people participate in a back room at the shop.
The conversation focused more on serious healthcare issues, suicide, the nature of life in nursing homes, and options for people with difficult physical conditions, as well as dementia and Alzheimers disease, to seek a painless, peaceful death.
We talked about the importance of having an advocate for a patient, available all the time. That attitude is everything, especially when you get old. How being at one's own home can provide more healing than being in a nursing home. How hospice support and pain ...
Silver City Death Cafe Write up
Posted by Gail Rubin, CT on Oct. 14, 2013, 6:04 p.m.
The Silver City Death Cafe was held at Javalina Coffee House with four participants in addition to facilitator Gail Rubin with A Good Goodbye. We all fit around one big round table, with plenty of elbow room.
The conversation was generally upbeat. We marveled at the sacred space that surrounds both birth and death, entering and exiting this world. We shared stories of messages of comfort and visions of loved ones who left this physical world old and worn out appearing as young and vital.
There were stories of those who experienced unexpected deaths, and how the loss impacted the storytellers. Both received messages from beyond this world ...
Friendly & Fearless Tucson Death Cafe Write up
Posted by tucsondeathcafe on Oct. 9, 2013, 4:56 p.m.
As the weather begins to cool in the desert, we gather for the TDC in relief that fall is here!
In September, 19 folks gathered outside for dinner, drinks and conversations about the 'shadow sides' of caregiving for a dying person, if they chose to take Kristine up on this as 'anchor topic'. Others discussed local cremation costs and final wishes, as they came hoping to do. People used the words helpful, open, ease-full, thought provoking, real and enlightening to describe the experience. Some folks were frustrated by the noise level of the live music outside, so in October we tried meeting in an indoor space at Monterey ...
Death Cafe at Cafe Rouge in Hampstead, London Write up
Posted by Josefine Speyer on Oct. 9, 2013, 2:33 a.m.
This Death Café held on a pleasant September evening was fully booked – overbooked - but not all 42 people attended and so I think we were pretty much down to 30 or so, the normal capacity for the room.
The evening was wonderful, inspirational, moving and a positive experience all round. Cj Swaby, Liz Wong, Thom Osborn and I each facilitated a table. Halfway through the evening we took a break. We ended the evening with a ‘plenary’. On Thom’s suggestion, we made a large circle, everyone facing into the room so we could see each other. This plenary was a closing circle and a chance for anyone ...
We gathered locally for cafe number five. it was a wonderful gathering with a variety of topics. near death experiences, fear of death, funeral attendance were some avenues we traveled down. we were joined by a representative from our local press journal who contributed as well as took away from the conversation. as a group we are growing in knowledge. we are also having fun exploring these new found friendships. our format remains free form, as it is working well.our latest contribution is the development of a reading list gathered from participants which we will be posting on our facebook page. next session is oct 21st in ...
The 3rd PDX Death Cafe - REGISTRATION CLOSED Write up
Posted by Holly Pruett on Oct. 8, 2013, 7:03 p.m.
In June they braved near 100-hundred degree heat; on September 29th it was torrential rains. Despite the dramatic weather, over 75 brave and curious souls gathered for the 3rd PDX Death Café, hosted by the Adult Education Program of the First Unitarian Church in downtown Portland.
An incredible 72 guests filled out evaluation forms; 73% of them were first-timers. Of those reporting how they had heard about the event, half cited a friend or other personal referral; one-quarter had heard about it through the host church; and one-quarter through the internet, Facebook, or media reports of Death Cafés in other communities.
Death Cafe Huntsville Write up
Posted by deathcafehsv on Oct. 8, 2013, 12:50 p.m.
Hosted by Hospice Family Care and myself (Monica Williams-Murphy, MD), Alabama's first Death Cafe was a resounding success. Some came by word of mouth, others heard advertisements on our local NPR station. One participant came from out of state (MS) and another from France!
All found the cafe to be welcoming, open-minded and even "relieving."
Conversations ranged from early experiences with death and cultural traditions, to how to complete our bucket lists. Many were interested in how to gain control over end of life processes to create dignity in dying- as such, hospice care and Advance Directives were discussed in some detail.
Here are some quotes from ...
Norwich Death Cafe at House cafe Write up
Posted by Norwich Death Cafe on Oct. 6, 2013, 10:23 a.m. 1 comment
On the afternoon of Sunday 15th September, 7 people attended a Death Cafe at House Cafe in Norwich, facilitated by Su, Kayla and Beth.
We had used this venue before, and it worked ever so well as we had the whole run of the cafe, which was otherwise closed to the public, making it a comfortable and safe environment for our conversations.
Originally we had planned for this Death Cafe to focus on 2 set topics, but in the week beforehand we read the new guidelines as published on the new website and realised this would not be suitable - so we relaxed our plans and looked forward to ...
Pagan Camp Death Cafe Write up
Posted by Sherry Gilles on Oct. 4, 2013, 1:23 a.m.
Sixteen people came to the Death Cafe hosted by Sherry Gilles with the
assistance of Raymond T. Anderson on June 18, 2013 at Pagan Spirit
Gathering in Earlville, IL.
We sat in the shade of a giant old tree at and around a weathered
picnic table and shared cinnamon apple sun tea, lemonade, moon pies, nuts,
dutch apple crumb cakes, candy and other snacks.
We started off discussing a few questions from the Death Anxiety
Questionairre by Conte, Weiner and Plutchik. (1982 "Measuring Death
Anxiety").
We discussed the loss of parents and other loved ones. Two women
shared their present experience with a loved one who is dying ...
Death Cafe Philadelphia and Greater Philadelphia Write up
Posted by Rachel Zeldin on Oct. 3, 2013, 2:09 p.m.
Funerals360 proudly supported the first Death Cafe Philadelphia Monday night at Saxbys UPenn. Over 30 people attended this "macabre Meetup" to join in some lively discussion about life's heavier topic over coffee, tea, and cake.
Attendees from all backgrounds participated, ranging from a physicist to hospice nurses. A med student to the "regular" at the coffee shop. Men and women old and young joined in to story tell, reminisce, talk about one's own fears of death, and discuss their bucket lists.
The event received some initial press from WHYY, which quickly ...