THE CONCEPT of death doesn’t usually come up over coffee and cake.
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But next month, dying will be the topic of discussion at the pop-up Death Cafe in Ballarat.
Ballarat grieve counsellor Brenda Rutherford said the Death Cafe provided a space for people to drink tea, eat cake and discuss death.
She said the Ballarat Bereavement Support Network organised education programs as part of Grief Week every year, and decided to run the Death Cafe for the first time this year.
“It’s really to encourage people to explore issues of death and it’s not meant to be bleak or depressing,” Ms Rutherford said.
“It's a conversation you have with your peers in a cafe environment which can be funny, sad, moving, interesting, an opportunity for learning and engaging with like-minded people.”
Ms Rutherford said the topic of death was typically considered as taboo in western countries, but she hoped the cafe would increase awareness of death and help people make the most of their lives.
She said the conversation would be guided by counsellors who were there to participate and listen to the participants’ views.
“I think our culture thinks that we’ll just be too sad talking about death and therefore we have to avoid making ourselves sad so people tend to keep it in,” Ms Rutherford said.
“We want to get people feeling confident that they can talk about death and dying and that nobody will think they’re weird.”
The Death Cafe was first born in the United Kingdom in 2010 in response to a community desire to explore death and its meanings with others.
The concept has now spread across Europe, North America and Australasia with more than 2000 Death Cafes around the world.
The Death Cafe will be held at a private residence on Tuesday, August 25 at 6.30pm. For bookings, email bjradsd4@gmail.com
A separate Death Cafe will also be hosted in Ballarat as part of Dying to Know Day and is set to be facilitated by Buddhist philosophy, meditation and mindfulness practitioner Ajanta Judd with the intention of running monthly events.
Ms Judd said the cafe would allow people to gather and discuss all aspects of death and dying in order to be well-adjusted to embrace life.
She said people of all cultural, ethnic, religious and spiritual backgrounds were welcome to attend.
“Death Cafes are a happening and much required phenomena which address an area of social conversation and consciousness that is often avoided through fear and current cultural norms which have made the subject taboo,” she said.
THE INFO:
What: Death Cafes
When: August 8 and August 25
Where: The Salon and private residence
More Information: Email bjradsd4@gmail.com or visit www.deathcafe.com
