Death Cafe write-ups
Death Cafe Whangarei no#6 Write up
Posted by Jo Moselen on Dec. 5, 2018, 1:38 a.m.
The Totara Cafe was once again our venue and despite the weather we were able to occupy the big round outdoor table up until the last 30 mins when we did have to retreat indoors.
We were a group of eleven of which six were attending for the first time.
As always after an introductory round the conversation gains a life of its own and we discussed suicide with some people having direct experience of the death of a loved one by suicide, how we feel about there being no funeral which is becoming more common and this led into what IS a funeral and do we think ...
Denver Death Cafe Write up
Posted by Death Cafe Metro Denver on Dec. 4, 2018, 11:51 a.m. 3 comments
Thanks to all those who have participated in our Denver Metro Death Cafes in 2023. I am deeply honored to have been part of such amazing insights and conversations on death, dying, loss and what might happen after death. We do hope you can join us in our 10th year of conversations on demystifying death 2024 at The Tattered Cover on Colfax.
Thanks to everyone who came out to the Death Cafe in Saskatoon last week. Once again, it was a great evening! When fifty people are willing to brave the wintry weather on a Monday night, we know we are helping to fill a need to bring death out of the shadows, so that we can live our lives more fully.
Here are some of the words that folks wrote down when asked to choose some that would best describe their experience at the Death Cafe:
- welcoming
- genuine
- inspiring
- fascinating
- enlightening
- emotion
- light-hearted
- lively
- connection
- understanding
- comforting
- honesty
- intimacy
- thought-provoking
- worthwhile
- necessary
- life-affirming
- transformative
If you missed this one ...
Death Cafe Bristol Write up
Posted by MaryTutaev on Nov. 30, 2018, 5:21 p.m.
An interesting and enthusiastic meeting with new and regular members ...we covered a whole range of death related topics with people generously sharing their ideas and experiences ....as always the two hours go by quickly and there was a feeling of lightness,relief and community as people could share things that are not always easy in the usual social situations....we of course shared refreshments and CAKE !
Monmouth County Death Cafe Write up
Posted by Beth Almerini on Nov. 29, 2018, 7:25 p.m.
We had some new members this month and our conversation ranged from the poetry of death, to near death experiences, the various forms of green burials and why its important to be careful when spreading ashes! There were personal stories about encounters with dying family members and the experience of caregiving. Of course, there was also laughter and cake!
Monmouth County Death Cafe Write up
Posted by Beth Almerini on Nov. 29, 2018, 7:20 p.m.
Tonight's Death Cafe was an intimate gathering where we discussed how the holidays impact death, dying and grieving, how to create new holiday traditions when loved ones have died and the description of a sky burial from the book "Hotel at the Top of the World". As always, very interesting conversation.
Greetings, Deathlings!
Our November 14th Death Café – Hillsborough (DC-H) was a superb success – Thank you for coming! Fifteen attendees was a really good turnout and represented the most diverse range of ages I have seen at a DC yet, with the youngest ones being 9 and 15! Wonderful! Let’s continue to open up the discussions about death with everyone. Below is a brief summary about our second event, followed by details about the next DC-H on 12/12.
This is a very basic summarization mentioning many (yet not all) of the topics we talked about: as a fun exercise, we wrote down a few of our ...
This was my second Death Cafe Meeting in Kendal and once again, a really interesting meeting. It was nice to catch up with some familiar faces and to meet new people as well.
I was amazed how different the topics were from the previous meeting with quite a lot of mention of the recent commemorations for WWI.
Also interesting was being included in a small research group specifically involved with work for a PhD student researching the Death Cafe Movement.
Thanks once again to Susie and Jane for organising and to the Brewery Arts Centre for the use of their Warehouse Cafe. Looking forward to the next one ...
County Durham Death Cafe Write up
Posted by Annette the Celebrant on Nov. 23, 2018, 5:58 a.m.
This Death Cafe was held in the 'snug' of a beautiful, cosy coffee shop whose homely ambience felt just right for our small group.
We had our own space, and our pre-ordered cakes, scones and drinks were served to us for our mid-point break.
I had eight attendees, and only one 'no show'. The cafe owner said a couple of his regulars may be attending, but they didn't. This was good, as I had stressed on publicity posters that booking was essential.
As I was facilitating alone in a small space it was important for me to have contact with everyone beforehand.
The chat flowed easily, and ...
Death Cafe Edmonton Write up
Posted by Gina Vliet on Nov. 22, 2018, 2:43 p.m.
We were a small but mighty group for this week's November 19th gathering. But what amazing discussion! Two themes really stuck out for me during the evening. One was how the potential for living on virtually will impact how we define death and dying in the future. With the onset of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and our ongoing virtual lives on Facebook, etc., will we ever really die? David Eagleman’s idea of the third death came up. Will we die a third and final time, being forgotten, if we live on in the matrix forever?
We expanded that conversation to the concepts of the soul, karma, and ...
Death Cafe Edmonton Write up
Posted by Gina Vliet on Nov. 21, 2018, 6:54 p.m.
We held our first Death Café Edmonton on November 1st, the Day of The Dead. Just because we’re fun that way.
The event seats had sold out quickly, but as with any free event, about half didn’t show up. Not to worry, our empty seats were taken by some wait listers, and a few people who just happened upon the event, which was most excellent. We ended up with two perfectly sized groups of four, which kept the conversation lively and everyone engaged.
I started by thanking the venue, made sure everyone had all the tea and snacks they wanted, then went into the history of ...
Reston Death Cafe Write up
Posted by chriscross on Nov. 19, 2018, 7:36 p.m.
The back room of the Dennis County Cafe was the location of the first ever death cafe in Reston Manitoba. This is a small prairie town and like our other cafes most people who attend know each other. This is just the way it is in small places and in some ways it makes it very comfortable and just like a trip to the coffee shop...except this time we talk about death. We had good small group discussions and followed up with larger group discussions and sharing. We enjoyed and appreciated the hospitality from the folks at Dennis County and the Skor cake literally was "to die ...
11 people. In the last 10 minutes we found we had forgotten all about the cake. In a final go-round everyone in the circle said they had really enjoyed the afternoon.
Chambana Death Cafe October Write up
Posted by Sherry Gilles on Nov. 18, 2018, 11:10 p.m.
Nine people gathered around a table at the library in Champaign IL.
We had one new attendee from the University of IL she was a doctoral student of psychology. Everyone else had attended before.
Participants discussed embalming and the physical structures that support cemeteries to keep the cemetery grounds from collapsing.
Some talked about not being sure that cremation is good for the environment. Being planted as a tree was part of the conversation.
Others shared their experiences of being a child when someone dear died and then having to go to the funeral and view the body of the deceased; others were not offered the chance to ...
Death Cafe Tunbridge Wells Write up
Posted by carmeldunmall on Nov. 18, 2018, 4:49 a.m.
8 of us met, at the Trinity in Tunbridge Wells.
The discussion was lively and varied, people brought different expriences to share. There was an understanding within the group, a feeling of a common humanity. The two hours flew by.
We have decided to meet every other month, the third Saturday, between 2 and 4 pm at the Trinity.
Thanks to all who came, it definitely was food for thought.
Carmel