I’ve neglected  to advise you of a great new website called preparingtodie.com. It has wonderful information for caregivers, on writing your will and much more. Check it out!

 

Home Funerals on YouTube, MN first certified green cemetery, Facebook announcement, Krista Tippett‏

Minnesota Threshold Network Meeting Minutes of April 30, 2012

Attendees: Linda Bergh, Becky Bohan, Marianne Dietzel, Eli Effinger-Weintraub, Heather Halen, Kathy Huset, Kyoko Katayama, Nancy Manahan, Marijane Tessman, Julie Tinberg

Reports

April 22: Heather and Julie presented at Macalester-Plymouth United Church. An excellent nine-minute edited clip of their talk is available on YouTube.

April 28: MTN members visited Mound Cemetery of Brooklyn Center , Minnesota’s first cemetery to be certified by the Green Burial Council! Mound Cemetery received one leaf, which signifies a hybrid burial ground, where conventional and green gravesites may be side by side.; Two leaves means a natural burial ground; three leaves, a conservation burial ground. (For more information on green cemeteries nationally, see www.greenburialcouncil.org/.)

Linda reported on the advanced directive class. Attendees are writing letters about their values and ethics to their families and designated agents. At least as important as completing the advanced directive paperwork are conversations with family members and personal agents so everyone involved is clear about our wishes if we cannot speak for ourselves. Heather mentioned that advanced directives should be in place throughout our lives, since accidents and life-threatening illnesses can occur at any age.

Events

The annual MTN Public Information Forum will be at Washburn Library on Tuesday, June 12 at 6 pm. There will be two new speakers this year. Please notify your friends, libraries, churches, senior centers, neighborhood newsletters, co-ops, and hospices with whom you have connections, and post this event on Facebook and Twitter.  Here’s a 63-word paragraph with the essential information; feel free to modify/condense it:

Family-Directed After-Death Care and Green Burials

When a family member dies, you don’t have to call a funeral director. Simple, legal, inexpensive, eco-friendly, deeply meaningful alternatives exist. Free public information forum on caring for our own deceased; common myths & fears; burial, cremation, & hydrolysis; and working with a supportive funeral director. Tuesday June 12, 6:30-7:45pm. Washburn Public Library, 5244 Lyndale Ave. S. Mpls.  For more information, visit mnthresholdnetwork.wordpress.com.

The National Home Funeral Alliance 3rd annual conference is at Techny Towers Conference & Retreat Center on Chicago’s North Shore October 12-14, 2012. Cost for the conference, lodging, and all meals is $390 members/$415 non-members. Heather may contact them about doing a break-out session on challenges that can come up during after-death care. For more information or to register, visit the NHFA website.

Other

Linda will order three sets of Techni Ice to have available to members for keeping a body cool. Marianne and Heather also will have Techni Ice in the freezer, ready for use.

Nancy mentioned a 1998 ground-breaking book about after-death care , Coming to Rest by Julie Wiskind and Richard Spiegel. She is in touch with Richard and hopes to obtain copies of the book, which is out of print, for the Minnesota Threshold Network.

Kyoko recommended Krista Tippett’s April 26 interview with Ira Byock, author of the classic Dying Well, about his 2012 book, The Best Care Possible: A Physician’s Quest to Transform Care Through the End of Life. You hear Dr. Byock advocate for an understanding of death as a developmental stage like adolescence or mid-life at http://being.publicradio.org/programs/2012/contemplating-mortality/

Discussion

We began an exploration of the ethical questions involved in advanced directives, after-death care, and the home funeral movement. Heather reported that in hospice communities, the emphasis on a dying person’s having as much control as possible over the dying process is evolving to include the recognition that many people are involved in a death and have to live with the consequences of the dying person’s decisions.

We raised several questions to consider at our next meeting, including these:

• What do you do when a family doesn’t agree with the wishes of the dying person?
• What do you do when no one knows what the dying person wants? What guides our decisions?
• What role does money play in end-of-life decisions–and how can we talk about it?

Next Meeting

The next MTN meeting (after the June 12 forum) will be September 17, 2012, at 7 pm at Julie Tinberg’s house. Details will be emailed and posted on the MTN site.

Feng Shui Exploration

Peaceful Passages: Feng Shui for Hospice Care NEW
This course is intended for hospice workers and also people who are providing hospice care in their home. You will learn how the concepts of Feng Shui apply to creating space for home hospice care in a way that supports both the patient and the caregivers. The course is designed with infinite appreciation and gratitude for those who support peaceful passages.
2.4 Contact Hours, $49, INSTR: Char Tarashanti
Class ID: 18788 Wed, 5/2/12 6:00pm – 8:00pm RM: A2556

Forum at Washburn Library Scheduled for June 12th, 2012

Minnesota Threshold Network invites you to a free public forum on

HOME FUNERALS & GREEN BURIALS

Tuesday  June 12, 2012,   6:00 – 7:45PM

Washburn Public Library, 5244 Lyndale Ave. So, Minneapolis

Topics include:

Caring for our own at death–How?

Home Visitation– Is it legal?

Final disposition choices–What does “green” involve?

Death is a normal, natural experience we all face

The Minnesota Threshold Network connects people interested in

family-directed, after-death care, home funerals and

green burials

Please plan on joining us!

Next meeting Monday, April 30, 2012

Minnesota Threshold Network

Minutes of March 12, 2012 Meeting

Heather Halen and Carolyn Laine reported on their presentation on home funerals to 40-50 students at the University of Minnesota Program of Mortuary Science. Michael LuBrant, director of the program, suggested that Heather and Carolyn facilitate a U of M continuing education class he wants to organize.

Julie Tinberg reported on her conversation with Dan Kantor, manager of Mound Cemetery in Brooklyn Center, which is now certified by the Green Burial Council as a hybrid cemetery. A plot is available for $750, with a $500 charge for perpetual care. A 4-acre section currently leased to the city could be dedicated to green burials in the future. Mark your calendars! There will be tours of both Mound Cemetery and Oak Hill Cemetery on Saturday, April 28th. Mound Cemetery is located at 3515 69th Avenue North, Brooklyn Center, 55429 and Oak Hill is located in Richfield on Lyndale Ave between 59th and 60th Street. We will be at Mound at 1:30 and Oak Hill at 3:30. More details as time draws near.

Carolyn Laine reported that the bill that would undo the changes made in the 2010 law will probably not go anywhere this year. [Note: The bill is not progressing this year.]

Our annual community educational forum will be at Washburn Library June 12, 2012, from 6-7:45pm. A flyer will be available for MTN members to publicize this free and open forum on home funerals and green burials to churches, hospices, and the general public.

Leslie Reindl suggested we present at Macalester Plymouth United Church’s Lunch and Learn program. Heather Halen offered to do it. If anyone is interested in participating with Heather, please contact her at hjoyhalen@hotmail.com.

We watched a clip on end-of-life planning from the TPT documentary “Honoring Choices.” Linda Bergh led a discussion about directives, noting how important it is to discuss our wishes with our family and personal representative. She recently experienced how helpful it can be to complete an advanced directive in a group setting. She offered to teach another 3-part class for MTN members. Leslie Reindl will host the first meeting on Wednesday, April 18 from 7-9:30 pm. The second will be on May 2 and the third on May 16.  People can download an advanced directive from Honoring Choices Minnesota. For more information or to register for the class ($10), contact Linda at hellolindabergh@gmail.com

Nancy Manahan recommends three books, available from the Hennepin County Library:

Raymond Moody, MD, Glimpses of Eternity: Sharing a Loved One’s Passage from This World into the Next (2010)

John Lerma, MD, Into the Light: Real Stories about Angelic Visits, Visions of the Afterlife, and Other Pre-Death Experiences (2007)

David Kessler, Visions, Trips, and Crowded Rooms: Who and What You See Before You Die (2012)

The next Threshold meeting will be Monday, April 30 from 7-9 pm at the home of Nancy Manahan and Becky Bohan, 21 East Rustic Lodge Avenue, Minneapolis.

 

 

Next Meeting April 30 – advanced directives and more

Next MTN meeting April 30, 2012, at Nancy & Becky’s home, 7-9pm. 21 E. Rustic Lodge Av. Minneapolis 55419. Discussion of advanced directives and more.  Bring you own directive, see other formats, be inspired to complete or update this important step in end-of-life planning.

March 12 Mtg: Talk at U of M School of Mortuary Science, new hybrid cemetery, advanced directives, and more!

Welcome to newcomers!

Hybrid cemetery in Brooklyn Center now certified by Green Burial Council – another option for natural burial in the Twin Cities. Mound Cemetery

Advance Directives: If you have one, bring it along to help others. If not, you may get some ideas and perhaps be motivated to complete this important end-of-life planning.

End-of-life stories

Heather Halen and Rep. Carolyn Laine’s March 9, 2012, presentation to the U of M School of Mortuary Science. Last month’s meeting at Aslan Institute.

New helpful website: afinefarewell.com

At Nancy & Becky´s home: 21 Rustic Lodge E, Mpls, 55419 — 7 to 9pm