Return to the Earth: A Community Death Care Gathering
Description
Get your death questions answered...
...and answer questions you didn’t even know you had!
Join the Western Montana End of Life Collective for an immersive day of learning about all things death-related. The day will include a demonstration of what a home funeral can look like, a panel about green burial and other practical end-of-life planning topics, and an introduction to human-powered farewells through Missoula's bicycle hearse. We aim to create a space that engages these challenging topics through curiosity, participation, joy, and creativity.
Local deathwork practitioners and partners will be tabling throughout the event, showcasing holistic, community-oriented, and ecologically attentive end-of-life practices.
Join for the whole time or just for the parts that interest you. This is a family-friendly event; we will have age-appropriate activities, a resource table that includes children's books, and creative activities like painting a cremation box.
The Western Montana End of Life Collective is an organized collective of Certified Death Midwives whose mission is to educate, empower, and support community members navigating end-of-life care. Find more information about us on our website.
We recommend that you purchase tickets in advance. However, tickets will also be available at the door.
Suggested ticket price: $35
Sliding scale: $15 (community supported)-$60 (help sponsor another attendee). No one turned away for lack of funds. Proceeds support continued deathwork education & offerings in our community.
Reach out ot ecotoneEOLguide@gmail.com if you would like to sponsor this event or partner with us as a community practitioner.
Agenda
- 10:00 am - 10:15 am
Arrive & Mingle
Coffee, Tea, & Treats from Bernice's Bakery
- 10:15 am - 10:30 am
Welcome & Orientation
Why we’re here, an overview of the day, and an orientation to the space.
- 10:30 am - 11:30 am
Home Funeral Demonstration
Learn about the history of home funerals, how personalized they can be, and what it could look like in your own home. Hands-on demonstration will include how to cool, wash, shroud, and move a body safely, as well as rituals and how loved ones can be involved. Facilitated by Kendra Potter (death midwife, birth doula, yoga teacher, and owner of Sistermoon Wellness)
- 11:45 pm - 12:45 pm
Community Panel about Green Burial & Practical End-of-Life Care
An opportunity to learn and ask questions of community practitioners about green burial and other practical end-of-life care topics.
- 1:00 pm - 1:30 pm
Bike Hearse Introduction & Demonstration
Bob Giordiano will introduce Missoula's bicycle hearse, built at Free Cycles, as a gentle and fossil-free way to honor a body and soul's ride to their final resting place. Instead of being driven to your final resting place, you could be biked there by your family and friends!
- 1:30 pm - 2:00 pm
Continue the Conversation
Time to explore the community resource tables, ask questions, sign up for upcoming workshops, and connect with fellow event attendees.
Sponsors
Tickets for good, not greed Humanitix dedicates 100% of profits from booking fees to charity
