Death Cafe write-ups
Death Cafe @ Stanley Picker Gallery Write up
Posted by Korina Jaxx on July 30, 2015, 5:20 a.m.
Our Death Café was held on the 16th June at the Stanley Picker Gallery was attended by 11 people (including the organisers). It was organized by Oreet Ashery (Stanley Picker Gallery artist in residence) and Korina Giaxoglou (Kingston University academic) as a way of engaging with the wider public on matters relating to their artistic and research interest in death and dying. As many of the participants remarked, there was a lively cross section of people from all walks of life making the conversation lively and interesting.
For the majority of participants, this was their first Death Café ever making the experience all the more valuable for ...
Death Cafe Niagara Write up
Posted by Oakwood Cemetery on July 28, 2015, 10:09 p.m.
It was a warm one as we met in early July. Again, the attendance numbers were just right, a little less than 20. Any more and we found we might have to break up into separate groups. Not an ideal situation, having 2 group discussions going at once. Last July, we tried to meet outside, but it was too hard to hear each other.
Michelle and I as co-facillitators were called away for interviews, but in our sted, Michelle's Mom Beverly stepped up and kept the coversations going. She did an excellent job. Everyone reported the evening went well.
The TV report went well. They left out ...
Fourteen of us gathered in the rec room at Silver Sands. We split into three groups. By all accounts, the discussion was lively, interesting, and varied. Most of us attended out of curiousity. The three cakes were delicious! Each of them homemade by a different participant. No plans for a follow-up Death Cafe, but a contact list was circulated. Someone may host another Death Cafe or another get-together on a specific death-related subject.
Montpelier Death Cafe Write up
Posted by MontpelierDeathCafe on July 27, 2015, 6:03 p.m.
Montpelier Death Cafe
July 16th Meeting Notes
"Why did you decide to come tonight?" That is the simple question we often use for the introductory round of our monthly conversations but it is rarely easy to answer even as a facilitator. After all, making time in one's busy day to sit down and talk about death and dying for an hour and half isn't the way most people choose to spend their time, no matter how much we wish they would. And the truth is, even though it is quite difficult to express specifically why we gather everyone's answer usually includes something along the lines ...
Belleville, IL Death Cafe Write up
Posted by maggieboone on July 23, 2015, 9:05 a.m. 1 comment
Death Café on July 18, 2015
Wow, we had a great turn out welcoming Brandy from Belleville; Christina and Kim from St Louis, MO as new members at our Death Cafe. Sharon exhibited photos of her grandmother and others that were taken many, many years ago. The interesting part of the photos was that they were all dead. Apparently eyes were painted on closed eyelids and they were posed as if they were alive (unfortunately, her grandmother’s right eye was a bit crooked and slightly smeared). Another member brought in cremains that she found in a drawer of an antique (said to be around 100 years old ...
Death Cafe Winnipeg Write up
Posted by Death Cafe Winnipeg on July 21, 2015, 3:21 p.m.
Our first afternoon event brought 13 ladies together on July15th. Good mix of new folks and returnees. Discussion ranged from lucid dreaming about our loved ones, the afterlife and the nature of the soul, to talking to our kids about our wishes. A lovely sharing group .
Cookies were also really good.
We discussed proposed changes to Medicare that will cover physician-client conversations regarding end of life issues. We expect to participate in national comments sought by Medicare and are in support of this change.
We also discussed deathbed conversations we have had with parents, adult children and friends who have passed on and how these experiences have influenced our attitudes toward dying.
Julie and I were happy that seven people turned up to our small venue in the heart of Canterbury.
It was our first time of hosting and after the initial welcome and setting of ground rules, the conversation evolved from the subjects and perspectives that people had indicated when we introduced ourselves.
Julie and I intend to run another one in Whitstable in the Autumn and we have already had a neutral venue agree to let us host from there.
Highcliffe Death Cafe Write up
Posted by Lis Horwich on July 9, 2015, 6:29 a.m.
One week two Death Café were hosted-normally we have a gap of 1 week, but not so this July. Next Death Café will be September. Monday night we had a hectic discussion about our soul in the afterlife and how we plan our life before we are born, books mentioned were: Astrology of the Soul” by Jan Spiller and “Your Soul’s Plan” by Robert Schwartz. We were 5 folks together half of previous meeting with 10!
Wednesday 3 new members came along to an interesting meeting with lots of laughter among the 6 people. We were a celebrant, an actor, a past-life soul regression therapist, a nurse ...
Ashland Death Cafe Write up
Posted by julianspalding on July 8, 2015, 3:10 p.m.
We are a group of six people who work within the end-of-life field and who wish to facilitate community conversations about death and dying. Our work continues the Death Café process begun in 2013 in Ashland, Oregon by hosting a second one at the Havurah Shir Hadash Synagogue on June 23, 2015. It was attended by forty-five people and facillitated in small groups by the organizers. We served fruit, decadent chocolates and cupcakes adorned with skulls. The Café was very well received. We plan to host a follow up in the fall.
SW London Death Cafe Write up
Posted by Suzanne Michal on July 7, 2015, 5:55 a.m.
It was very different experience this time for me. Even after two years of running death cafes.
We were deeply moved by two ladies who work for a children's hospice.
A lady shared about working in refugee camps and how they delivered back to familie the ashes of those who had died in the camp. Very emotional and a sharing about different cultural responses to death and bereavement.
As a man left, he told me "how balanced and serene" he now felt...
A powerful melting pot of such unique stories, personalities, point of views, needs...
Belleville, IL Death Cafe Write up
Posted by maggieboone on July 6, 2015, 9:25 a.m.
Death Café 6/27/2015 6pm – 8pm CST
The 3rd Death Café hosted by Sharon Egler at the Miscellanea House Café was held on June 27th. There were a few more attendees that are new. A Southern Illinois Hospice representative and an actual medium attended along with the regular attendees which made for an interesting discussion centered around closure after the death of a loved one and moved to new ways of memorializing their lives.
Sharon had done some research and found some methods of memorializing such as stained glass pieces bonded with cremains, Human DNA trees (Biopresence apparently claim to transcode human DNA into trees ...
Canterbury Death Cafe Write up
Posted by AdrianAdams on July 2, 2015, 4 a.m.
Our second Death Café had a smaller turn out than our initial meeting. We had a number of apologies, although we also welcomed some new members with an age range of between 20 and 80.
In spite or perhaps because of the smaller number we had a more focused discussion that centred on the topic of how we can prepare ourselves and others for our own death. We shared personal experiences and explored a number of issues including: different and shifting cultural, gendered and generational expectations about familial responsibilities, independence and the willingness to give and accept help towards the end of life.
We talked about the need ...
St. George, Maine Death Cafe II Write up
Posted by Sylvia Sienikehä Elysiana on June 29, 2015, 10:21 p.m.
A beautiful gathering of amazing women (and one amazing man!) Conversation covered bizarre funeral practices, funny death stories, personal sharings. Tea and coffee served with a skull shaped organic chocolate cake.
We had a terrific Lawrence Death Cafe yesterday, Saturday June 27th with 17 people attending our meeting at the Lawrence Public Library. Several people brought snacks and the variety of topics was fascinating. We all look forward to our July Lawrence Death Cafe!