Death Café. It’s just like any other
café; coffee, cake, but with a little something extra – death.
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| Kurtynik and Beecher's Mr.Reaper |
Well, conversation about death.
Calgary’s first ever Death Café is on
Sunday, March 10, from 2 to 5 PM at Self-Connection Books on Bowness Road, NW.
The event will kick off
with the internationally acclaimed short film, “Mr. Reaper’s Really
Bad Morning”, with an introduction by Calgarian filmmakers Kevin Kurytnik and
Carol Beecher to their innovative animation.
Following the screening, guests will
be invited to participate in an open, free-flowing conversation facilitated by
Wendy Kurchak, who is certified through the Association of Death Education and
Counselling, and has over ten years’ experience in the field.
It’s the stimulating,
thought-provoking discussions which are the draw for the hundreds of people,
from all walks of life, attending the Death Cafés sweeping the United Kingdom,
Canada, the US, and now into Brazil. In relaxing settings, the spontaneous topics
are directed by the participants, making each Death Café a new and enlightening
experience.
Jon Underwood, the UK Death Café
guru, sees these events as a platform for “increasing awareness of death
with a view toward helping people make the most of their (finite) lives.” He believes that if people would explore and
discover new perspectives about death and dying, and feel more comfortable
about the inevitable, “the world would be a much, much better place.”
Lizzy
Miles, a social
worker and hospice volunteer in Ohio, has spearheaded the Death Café experience
in the United States. She says,
“The beauty of the Death Café is that it brings people together who
want to talk about the “taboo” topic of death (and all that it entails). Many of the attendees reported in their
surveys that in addition to telling their own story, they found comfort in
hearing the stories of others. The
participants who have come to the Death Café events have a wide variety of backgrounds. The diversity of experiences, beliefs and
opinions contributes to the in-depth discussions that we have.”
Interesting concept, isn’t it? Coffee, home baking, the opportunity to
talk freely about death, and maybe even make the world, or at least Calgary, a
much better place.
There is no charge for this event; however, participants do need to
reserve their seat for the café. Email Wendy at wendymariek@gmail.com with your name and
a phone number by Wednesday, March 6.
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