What is a CFD Death Café?
At a Death Café, the aim is to increase awareness of death in order to help people make the most of their finite lives. All Death Cafés are open to, and respectful of, people of all communities and belief systems. A Death Café is a group-directed conversation with no agenda, objectives, or themes. It is a discussion group rather than a grief support or counseling session.
Group-led discussions have included information about green burial and other funeral options, religious traditions and spiritual beliefs about dying, do-not-resuscitate and advance care directives—any aspect of one’s final scene in the play of life might be brought to the table. No one gets to proselytize or sell their own point of view. Everyone gets a chance to speak out. Life and death are celebrated—and something tasty is always served.
CFD Death Cafés have been held in restaurants, libraries, community centers, and houses of worship throughout Ulster and Dutchess Counties. Having the greatest concern for the health and safety of our community and friends, we have held CFD Death Café gatherings on Zoom since COVID. Our virtual events offer the advantage that folks from all over the country are logging in to connect with each other and share their concerns about dying and death. By providing an online safe space for dialoguing, Death Café keeps the conversation going.
In hosting CFD Death Cafés in the Hudson Valley since 2013, we’ve built a community of care and concern, one supportive of a home for the dying. And we are happy to announce that in-person gatherings will now resume, some to be held in Circle Home and others to be hosted by friends and organizations in the region! Stay tuned for monthly announcements, and come join us to renew a sense of connection and empathy with friends and neighbors!
