FIRST TIMERS ONLY Death Cafe

Hello and welcome to the Christchurch Death Cafe
With the growing number of members in the Chch DC and the use of smaller venues it can be hard to get a seat. Im making a few changes to loosen things up a little.

This is a special one-off Death Cafe (DC) just for people who have never been before and are curious or keen to experience it. No particular death experience is necessary.

I didn't get taken to funerals as a child. I got left at home when my Grandad died. As a result I had no healthy death experiences to draw from and consequently I became a funeral-avoidant death-phobic scaredy-cat. I was so bad at dealing with loss and terrible at supporting friends. I didn’t know what to say and often for fear of saying the wrong thing, I’d say nothing.

Because of Death Cafe I'm now more comfortable talking about death and have become a better friend, colleague, and family member (at least when it comes to death).

Death Cafe is a group-directed discussion amongst strangers over coffee and cake. It's usually in an actual cafe, hosted free of charge. It’s probably easier to say what it’s not: it’s not grief support, there's no advice, no agenda, and no speakers.

For this gathering we are using a private dining room at Hello Sunday Cafe in Sydenham - the cute little church on Elgin Street - over the fence from the Colombo Mall carpark.

Hope to see some new faces

Melanie

• WHAT HAPPENS AT OUR DEATH CAFE?
- It's a group-led conversation about death and dying. Talking about death helps remind us of how precious life is.

- We talk about all sorts of interesting death-related things; aging parents, death doulas, books we've read, death in different cultures, assisted dying, near death experiences (NDEs), philosophy, the meaning of life, and our own personal experiences to name a few. Each meeting is different - a reflection of the ever-changing mix of people on the day. There are often gasps of wonder and bursts of laughter.

- We don't promote any particular conclusion, belief system or course of action. While we dont always agree with each other - we do aim to foster kindness and compassion. We dont give advice and there's no preset list of topics. It is a group-led conversation facilitated by your host.

- Death Cafe is not grief support. It will not suit people who are recently bereaved or who are actively grieving. There are existing support groups more suited to this.

• WHAT TO BRING
- An open mind, curiousity, and a willingness to join in the conversation.
- A friend if it helps.
- A koha towards the annual Meetup cost is always appreciated.

• DEATH CAFE ETIQUETTE
Seats are limited and there is always a waiting list of people keen to come. If after booking in for any reason you arent able to make it, please come back to this Meetup event page and change your attendance status - this frees up your seat for the next person on the waiting list. many thanks :-)

• FACEBOOK GROUP
if you'd like to join our FB group - this is us: www.facebook.com/groups/ChristchurchDeathCafe

• QUOTE of the MOMENT
Time is more valuable when you can see your mortality on the horizon.
― Tom Rath