Circle of Friends for the Dying will host its 79th Death Café on November 18, from 7 to 8:30 p.m., via Zoom. Anyone who wishes to explore the topic of death and dying is welcome to attend.

CFD hosts monthly Death Cafés to promote conversations about this taboo topic and to help people make the most of their finite lives. Last year CFD teamed up with Death Café of Westchester to produce these gatherings on Zoom, making it possible for people from all over the country to join the discussion. 

“Awareness of the inevitability of death can give life deep meaning,” says CFD co-founder Barbara Sarah. “Talking with others about it can enliven and enrich your day. Being present to life and exchanging thoughts about death opens your heart and mind.”

Since 2013, CFD has worked to expand death literacy in its home community of Kingston, New York, with the mission of opening a comfort-care home for the dying in the Mid-Hudson Valley. With no agenda, objectives or themes, Death Cafés are safe places where people of all communities and belief systems can get in touch with and express their feelings about mortality. They’re intended to be discussion groups rather than grief-support or counseling sessions. 

“Each experience is different for everyone, depending on what you bring to the table,” says JoAnna Scari, who facilitates CFD’s Death Cafés. “We explore our emotions and thoughts with others, often strangers—but we leave as friends.”