June 9th event: Virtual Memorial Service, Graveside Service, Green Burial

Please join us on Tuesday, June 9, 7-9 p.m. (Central Time), as MTN members Anne Archbold, Marilaurice Hemlock, and Karen Greer share their experiences with creating and facilitating memorial services during the complicated coronavirus time.

Even though we at MTN view funeral possibilities in a much broader context than many, this pandemic has gotten us to stretch even further – to Zoom!

• Zoom helps us be a part of a memorable funeral from our living room or office.
  It can be a smaller group setting where you share with others in an informal way rather than a formal setting.
  Families can tell stories and show memorabilia that was left behind by the deceased.
  Zoom can save us from flying across the country to attend a relative or friend’s funeral.
  ________________

Join Zoom Meeting TUESDAY JUNE 9
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/7649075003

Meeting ID: 764 907 5003
One tap mobile
+13126266799,,7649075003# US (Chicago)
+19294362866,,7649075003# US (New York)

Dial by your location
+1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)
+1 929 436 2866 US (New York)
+1 301 715 8592 US (Germantown)
+1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)
+1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)
+1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)
Meeting ID: 764 907 5003
Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kbEkmdwMlZ

Twin Cities June Forum Focusing on Green Burial

From the mock green burial at our 2015 June forum.

We hope you can attend our annual June public forum, this year focusing on green burial. Join us for a mock graveside service and green burial; learn more about current options and regulations around green burial; share stories and ideas.

 

WHEN: Tuesday, June 20, 2017, 7:00 pm

WHERE: Prairie Oaks Memorial Eco Gardens, 8225 Argenta Trail, Inver Grove Heights, MN 55077 (between Highway 55 and 149).

 

This event is free and open to the public. Donations are welcome to help the Minnesota Threshold Network continue our work.

Please note that Prairie Oaks has no bathroom facilities. We’re keeping the program deliberately short for this reason, but you know your body best; please take care of yourself when deciding whether to come.

Driving Directions:

The directions on Google Maps are accurate for Prairie Oaks Memorial Eco Gardens, 8225 Argenta Trail, Inver Grove Heights, 55077.

A couple of helpful hints:

• When driving from the Twin Cities on Hwy 55E, remember to turn RIGHT onto Argenta Trail from 55. (The signage there is misleading.) Only .3 miles after turning onto Argenta, folks turn LEFT to stay on Argenta Trail. (If you miss this turn and go straight, the road turns into Yankee Doodle.)
• After this turn, drive .3 miles and Argenta curves to the right. Soon after the curve, turn right onto Auburn Path, which is the access road to Prairie Oaks Memorial Eco Gardens.
• There is NOT a permanent sign indicating the entrance to Prairie Oaks but you will see a Truck Repair and Equipment business at the entrance.
• MTN will mark the entrance to Prairie Oaks with a bright sign!!

Friends of the St. Paul Public Library series: (New Ways of) Thinking About Dying

MTN Twin Cities members Anne Murphy, Anne Archbold, and Marilaurice Hemlock will presenters in the St. Paul Public Library’s upcoming discussion series “(New Ways of) Thinking About Dying.”

Presented by The Friends and Health Advocates—a Saint Paul-based public health consulting group which promotes communication that bridges differences in culture, language, and class.

From ‘conscious dying’ at home, to family-designed home vigils, to green burials, dying people and those who care for them are rediscovering and redefining what happens before, during and after death.

February 2016 Link Round-Up

The Winter 2016 newsletter of the Funeral Consumers Alliance of Minnesota is now available on their website.  To read it, go to the FCA of MN home page.

 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

From the Rochester Area Chapter of the Minnesota Threshold Network:

All welcome! Free Will Donation 

You’ve lived a green life – but did you know it is now possible to carry your environmentally-conscious living into your end of life plans?  Green burial is a natural alternative to resource-intensive conventional burial and cremation. Through an informational presentation, video clips of other’s experiences and discussion, we will explore the topic of green burial. Learn the definition, benefits and legalities of green burial, as well as what local resources are available to support your choice to die green

February 16, 2016, 6:30-8:30pm, Dying to be Green, Assisi Heights Spirituality Center, 1001 14th St.NW, Rochester, MN. Definition, benefits, and legalities of green burial, as well as local resources available to support the choice to die green. Presented by the Rochester Area Chapter of the MTN. To register call (507) 280-2195.

Thanks to Deah Kinion, the Rochester Chapter now has a presence on Face Book.  It is a public page, so you don’t have to be a member of FB to access it.  Please “like” it and then invite all your friends to like it too.   Here is the link:

https://www.facebook.com/RochesterChapterMNThresholdNetwork/?fref=ts

 

 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Late Life: A Conversation with Atul Gawande 

http://video.tpt.org/video/2365637252/?utm_source=Late+Life%3A+A+Conversation+with+Atul+Gawande&utm_campaign=Late+Life%3A+A+Conversation+with+Atul+Gawande+Airs+on+TPT+Starting+This+Weekend!%3A+&utm_medium=email

Episode: Dr. Atul Gawande, author of “Being Mortal,” shares his vision of healthcare that helps people live well to the end.

Upcoming Broadcast Dates:

• Sunday, Feb 7| 1:00 a.m. CT (channel: TPTMN)
• Sunday, Feb 7| 7:00 a.m. CT (channel: TPTMN)
• Sunday, Feb 7| 1:00 p.m. CT (channel: TPTMN)”

 

 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

The Mary Hanson Show: Special Mini-Series for Black History Month, tpt 2-2, the MN Channel, Mondays at 10AM, 4 PM, 10 PM and 4 AM

 March 21 – Preparing for End of Life Healthcare Decisions – Guest:  Anne Elizabeth Denny, Consultant, speaker and author of My Voice, My Choice

June Event: Breaking New Ground: Community Potluck and Mock Green Burial

Where: Roselawn Cemetery, 803 Larpenteur Ave. West, Roseville, MN 55113 
When: June 9, 2015, 6:30-9pm,
What to bring: A dish to share, your own drinks and dishes, lawn chairs or a blanket.

Photo from the Roselawn Cemetery website

Park behind the chapel and join us at the top of the hill. Come rain or shine, as there are indoor options for our picnic.

After sharing our evening meal, we will begin to enact how one might conduct a green burial, with everyone participating in a procession carrying a volunteer “body” wrapped in a shroud to a burial spot. Learn from experienced practitioners some of the songs and poems that accompany such sacred events.

We will then hear from Larry Hudella, Superintendent of Roselawn Cemetery. Roselawn recently began offering natural burial without a vault, with no embalming and a biodegradable casket or shroud. We’ll also hear from MTN’s own State Representative Carolyn Laine, who will clarify the legal aspects of home death care and green burial. Q&A time will follow.

April link roundup

Dying Green is a 26-minute documentary about natural burial and land conservation, set in the Appalachians. Dr. Billy Campbell’s dream is to conserve one million acres of land, using our own death to create wildlife preserves. Two copies of the DVD are available at Hennepin County Library.

*******************************************************************************

NEW FAQs about family-led after death care on the blog!

*******************************************************************************

Rest in Peace: Stories About Death Care is a list of long-form journalism pieces about death and death care, compiled by Emily Perper.

Link Roundup

1. From earthporm.com: “Bye-Bye Coffins, These Organic Burial Pods Turn Your Loved Ones Into Trees”

Based in Italy, the Capsula Mundi project created an organic, biodegradable burial pod that literally turns a person’s remains into nutrients for a beautiful tree growing directly up above. Unfortunately, these burial pods are only a concept idea for now.

 

2. A Soft Goodbye is the beautifully story of how a Canadian home funeral guide helped the author and her family grieve the loss of a cherished relative. “No one called 911 or a funeral home. Instead, Richard’s family rang their death midwife.”

3. “What to Do With Our Bodies After We Die”: The Urban Death Project is developing a new option which may appeal to those who want to minimize environmental harm and give something back to the earth when we die. It is a system designed for urban settings in which human bodies are transformed into a soil-enriching substance. This choice can provide a deeply spiritual element for those who see something sacred in the cycles of life and the processes of decomposition and regeneration.

Image by Katrina Spode for the Urban Death Project.

4. “The Trouble With Advance Directives”: New York Times article exploring the shortcomings of the current method of creating and maintaining advance directives in the US.

5. New video from Ask a Mortician: Everyone’s Favorite Conversation ~ Talking about Death…with your parents.  Caitlin Doughty makes it almost fun, with some good questions at about 4 minutes in, to ask yourself first and foremost.

6. And be sure to catch Doughty’sirreverent take on traditional vs. natural/green burial.

Watch A Will for the Woods at home starting January 6

On January 6th, 2015, the documentary about a man’s search for a natural burial will be released on DVD and online.

• You can pre-order the DVD today and get a 35% discount
• For those who prefer to watch online, you can find the film on Vimeo on Demand for pre-order, or both Vimeo and iTunes starting January 6th.
• Besides buying the film, help get the film on Netflix by adding it to your DVD queue.

 

December 2014 meeting

At the upcoming MTN December meeting, State Representative Carolyn Laine will speak about natural burials. Carolyn has given her PowerPoint presentation to 32 groups around Minnesota. Here’s a chance for local members to see it and share personal stories.

December 9, 2014, 7-9pm, at the home of Linda Bergh, 4315 Xerxes Ave. Minneapolis. 612-927-0894. Free and open to all. Look for the EARTH FLAG flying from the front porch and twinkly lights.

Report on November 11, 2014 meeting: Natural Burial & Alkaline Hydrolysis

The meeting was lively and highly informative with 16 people present. We had two presenters: Dan Kantar from Mound Cemetery of Brooklyn Center,  Minnesota’s first certified hybrid green cemetery, and Anne Archbold from Prairie Oaks Eco Memorial Garden, Minnesota’s first completely green cemetery.   

It was helpful to hear detailed information about natural burial, what is required, who is requesting it, what are the costs, why people are planning ahead, and how such a burial can help bring closure. Both presenters were most helpful in answering detailed questions about the process.  

We also heard about Bradshaw Center in Stillwater, which offers alkaline hydrolysis (flameless cremation), from MTN member, Dawne Anderson, who visited the facility during last month’s MTN field trip.

People went away enlivened and informed, wishing to spread the word about these options, and looking forward to December’s meeting, the third and final MTN meeting on green burials this fall.