The Year Is Young — Like Green-Wood's New 'Death Cafe'

PARK SLOPE, BROOKLYN — In December, the Morbid Anatomy Museum breathed its last breath in Gowanus — but as it did, co-founder Joanna Ebenstein offered this recommendation for those interested in taking mortality seriously: visit The Death Café.

The Death Café, a discussion forum to be led by Brooklyn funeral director Amy Cunningham, will hold its first free monthly gathering at the Green-Wood chapel this Jan. 10 from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Green-Wood is located at 500 25th St.

Cunningham, who owns Fitting Tribute Funeral Services, describes herself as someone with "a passion for helping families arrange dignified, distinctive funeral and memorial services."

According to Green-Wood's website, the Café — modeled on Enlightenment-style "salons" where guests "gathered informally to discuss philosophical, political or scientific ideas — will be imbued with such a sensibility, offering visitors a chance to "share their thoughts and feelings on death" in a constructive way that helps them live better lives. Plus, there will be coffee and snacks, a nod to this mortal coil we call home.

You can read more about the The Death Café and RSVP for the event online.

Pictured at top: Green-Wood. Image courtesy of David Berkowitz on Flickr