Death Cafes
*Please check the CALENDAR to confirm dates.*
Meetings in the NEK are typically:
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2nd Wednesdays
Albany Library, 6 p.m.
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1st Thursdays ​Parker Pie in West Glover, 6 p.m. Upstairs in the Village Hall room.
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2nd Thursdays
Greensboro Free Library, 11 a.m.
What is a Death Cafe?
At a Death Cafe, people – often strangers at first – gather to eat cake, drink tea and discuss death. The Death Cafe model does not include choosing specific topics, set questions or guest speakers. The view of the founders of the Death Cafe movement is that, “when it comes to death, people have enough to discuss already…. giving extra input or setting too much of an agenda risks being presumptuous, restrictive and/or disempowering.”
Start a Death Cafe
According to DeathCafe.com, the only things needed to hold a Death Cafe are:
• A host and facilitator*
• A venue with refreshments booked for a certain time and date.
• People who want to talk about death.
That's it! The Death Cafe format is flexible, lightweight and straightforward. What makes it special is the open discussion about death -- there is no need for bells and whistles. The Death Cafe tradition, as started in England, is to serve tea and cake. However, these particular refreshments are not a requirement! As a facilitator your presence is the most important gesture of hospitality.
*See the DeathCafe site for more details on facilitating.
If you would like support to start a Death Cafe in your area, please be in touch. We would love to list it on our Calendar!
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We are encouraging librarians across our region to consider hosting a Death Cafe in your town and helping to publicize it. In addition to providing a welcoming, accessible public space to meet, libraries are the perfect local places for accessing resources of interest about grief, loss, death and dying. Some of our libraries are setting aside a special shelf for books and other materials pertinent to Death Cafe attendees and everyone associated with our Death Care Community.