Death Cafe write-ups
Upminster Death Cafe Write up
Posted by MortuaryGem on Nov. 7, 2018, 12:39 p.m.
November’s Death cafe was attended by 11 people who all chatted on a number of different topics which ranged from the serious to the humerous. The two hours absolutely flew by and it was 9pm before I knew it! It was a good demonstration of why I host these events, I think it’s very important for different people to meet each other and discuss these topics together.
Death Cafe Albany, NY Write up
Posted by DeathCafeAlbany on Nov. 5, 2018, 12:29 p.m.
On Saturday, September 29th at 1pm,we met at Albany Rural Cemetery ’s Chapel. Of the 19 people who attended, approximately half had never attended a previous Death Cafe in Albany, NY. Several folks brought cookies and donuts to share. The popularly-requested recipe for co-host Kate’s homemade cookies was quickly shared with our e-mail list. After splitting into three small groups with no agenda for about an hour, we came back together as a group and one person gave a summary about each group’s conversation. One group discussed the evolution of their religious beliefs, and how that impacts their beliefs about afterlife. Another spoke of the ...
Albany Death Cafe Write up
Posted by DeathCafeAlbany on Nov. 5, 2018, 12:23 p.m.
Death Cafe Albany met on July 10th from 6-7:30 at the Albany Public Library on Washington Avenue. It was the first Death Cafe hosted by Kate and Carla. (Melissa moved to California, and we thank her for getting things started in Albany!)
We had a wonderfully diverse group of 15 people, mostly new folks who had not previously attended. We met as a large group, with discussion topics ranging from factors that influence how people react (sudden vs. expected death, age of the griever, etc.), the "stages of grief" (and how they are not prescribed nor predictable), to the impact on the community in the aftermath of ...
Death Café
This will be for anyone who is interested in talking about death and dying. This will be an open ended discussion for individuals who want to share their opinions, experiences and any other feelings that they may have towards death.
My intention for this is to help bring awareness to death and dying for many people. There are many people who have misconceptions about death and dying and many fears associated with death and dying.
My expectation for this is for people to be able to get together without any fear of retribution, judgement or criticism.
Death cafes’ are NOT:
A bereavement or grief support group ...
Roxburgh is a small rural community which has a good community spirit.
I have had 20+ years of contact with the town and have worked there full time for 4 years. I live 50km away in a larger town.
I had 10 local ladies of varying ages turn up, so with me and my support person that makes a round dozen.
They were a quiet group to start with but a wide range of issues were shared from dying alone to living on in the afterlife.
Everyone shared somthing with the group and saw the relivance of the topic. They did ask where all the men were.
I ...
На вчерашней всрече мы говорили об эвтаназии домашних животных, о том, как говорить о смерти с детьми и почему мы, люди, так стремимся подменить само понятие смерти называя ее другими именами.
Огромное спасибо всем участникам за яркую оживленную беседу. Увидимся в конце ноября))
Golden Feather Death Cafe Yankee Hill Write up
Posted by TeaAndCake on Oct. 20, 2018, 4:51 p.m.
A small group attended the gathering this year. It was a very intimate setting, and we were able to explore issues together. We had a bouquet of marigolds for our centerpiece. This is the birth flower of October, and is prominent in Mexican festivities celebrating Dia de los Merton. We had small apple pies i made in my new skull shaped "cakelette" pan. I shared this passage and it was well received. We discussed this writing and parts of it resonated with us. "Death is like taking off a tight shoe"
Even when you are dead,
you are still alive.
You do not cease to exist at death ...
1066 Death Cafe Write up
Posted by 1066 Death Cafe on Oct. 17, 2018, 5:09 p.m.
This was the first meeting of the 1066 Death Cafe. We met at the local pagan group and spent a very interesting 45 minutes discussing personal views on death and dying.
The atmosphere was bright and cheerful. Humour and laughter came out of each of the small groups of four that we organised in to.
General feedback was very positive and people seemed to have found the event to be a positive and helpful gathering.
Next event will invite the local Buddhist community to share their views on death.
East Kent Death Cafe Pop Up Write up
Posted by EastKentPopUp on Oct. 17, 2018, 10:17 a.m.
A lively discussion between 14 attendees at our first event. We talked about assisted dying; talking to children about death and the importance of clarity in the language we use; having a terminal illness and the comfort of having a friend who you can be really open with and talk to; we talked about the connection strangers can have after they've experienced a shared trauma; we talked about dying of a broken heart when couples die very quickly one after the other; we talked about the grieving experience after losing a parent and how it can change you as a person.
Some attendees said they were skeptical ...
Virden Death Cafe Write up
Posted by chriscross on Oct. 15, 2018, 6:46 p.m.
We had an evening of firsts! First time hosting and the first time such an event has happened in our small prairie town. We had a lovely Death Cafe with 20 participants. The Gopher Creek Coffee Company supplied the space, beverages and cake. The venue was excellent and just the right size for this group although others were interested space was limited. The evening was described as "relaxing", "fulfilling" , and "interesting". Everyone in attendance left saying that they want to come to another death cafe again! The small groups of 4 touched on many topics but the large group discussion used to wrap up the session was particularly ...
We held a Death Cafe for Health Care Professionals on Sept. 19th, 2018. We had a great group and a terrific discussion. Many health care professionals struggle with caring for patients and their families who are dying and have little opportunity to debrief or reflect. We are also subjected to moral distress as patients/families' goals of care may not align with what the health care team's goals are. By sharing our stories about loss both personal and profressional we realized how normal it is to feel anxious, frightened, uncertain, sad, and frustrated at times. The overall theme that emerged from our group discussion was that death ...
This was the third in a series of 5 Death Cafes planned to be held at Coffee in the Wood, Colliers Wood, London SW19 this year.
The cafe was attended by eight people, who met together with myself and Kevin, my co-host. We decided to have a conversation as a larger group rather than dividing the group and having different discussions simultaneously, salon style.
Our conversation moved between different themes including what makes for a 'beautiful' or 'peaceful' death, and how different our constructions of these might be. We posed the questions: what sort of death might we wish for ourselves, and for our loved ones?
We returned ...
11 people came (we were hoping for 23/30).
In the last 10 minutes we realised we had entirelyforgotten about the cake (it was delicious).
When we had a final go-round everyone said they'd enjoyed it a lot.
Death Cafe West Hampstead Write up
Posted by Josefine Speyer on Oct. 11, 2018, 5:43 p.m. 1 comment
Death Cafe West Hampstead on 8 October was fully booked. I was expecting 10 people. On the night I arrived an hour early as usual, with teas, two cakes, one of them gluten free and some black and white grapes. I set up the room and laid the table, looking forward to the evening with anticipation. But instead of 10 guests only three people turned up. None of them had attended a death cafe before. We shared a sense of disappointment at the chairs being left empty, at the absence of strangers we had expected to share the evening with.
So we huddled together at one end of ...
Vancouver Death Cafe Write up
Posted by Janet Rivers on Oct. 9, 2018, 7:20 p.m.
We had 9 participants with lively conversation and very good feedback.
This will be my last until the new year.