Death

Led by Siobhan Burke

Death is often described as the last taboo. Something we fear and don't talk about.

Over the last year more than two million people have died of Covid19, more than one hundred thousand of them here in the UK. We have maybe become a bit immune to the shocking daily death toll.

Beyond Covid19 millions continue to die in other way. War, violence and preventable disease are still the reality for much of the world's population.

And there are also those whose death is sad but not tragic, leaving us in old age at the end of a long life.

How does reflecting on death effect us emotionally? How can we learn to live with the reality of death?

Questions for discussion

What do you think would help us as a society to talk more about and reflect on death?

What is your experience of helpful ritual?

What is your sense of what is needed or would be helpful, as we begin to come out of the pandemic, for processing the grief and loss of those who have died in this time?

What can we learn from other cultures about grief and mourning?

What are the ‘big’ questions that you would want to ask God about death and suffering?

Does reflecting on death help you to live more fully and well now?