No one likes to talk about dying, right? We do!
Bring your curiosity, your courage, and a sense of humor as we sit around the table at the gatehouse (almost) every Saturday in 2023 to explore our worries and wonderment about mortality. Join our new death doula in residence, Laura Lyster-Mensh, for a weekly series of conversations and workshops about the end of life. Guests will include those who sit with the dying, care for our bodies, and help those we will leave behind. We will work on projects like organizing our digital lives, documenting our wishes, and telling our life stories. We will play games, do projects, hear musicians, meet artists, and hear from scholars who explore the end of life in their work. Our goal is to explore a ‘death positive’ way to think about our mortality. You never know who you’ll meet around the table, but each person who enters the room is a gift to the event. Cake and tea provided. Donations to our host, Historic Congressional Cemetery, are warmly encouraged.
By facing our fear of death we aim to best enjoy every breath.
This week:
We are so pleased you can join us for this, OUR FIRST, Death Doula Day at Congressional Cemetery!
Our special invited guests will be the Threshold Singers of Washington DC to demonstrate how they sing at bedsides of local hospice patients. Their mission is to “offer our voices at tender times.” Demonstration 11am-noon. Come early to meet Laura. Stay afterward for tea and cake and conversation.
Schedule:
10am-11am Come mingle with others and meet the HCC Death Doula in residence, Laura Lyster-Mensh
11am-12pm Experience the extraordinary Threshold Singers of Washington DC as they demonstrate the experience of singing to dying people. Volunteers will in the center of the circle, followed by an opportunity to ask questions about the experience of being with dying people, about the music, and about their mission.
12pm-1pm Enjoy tea and cake and meet others interested in comforting and supporting the dying, as well as share your ideas and suggestions on death positive programming during Laura’s residency from noon to 1pm
For more dates and activities check the HCC website and we invite you to sign up for our mailing list: Death Doula Days at HCC