EarthRest: A Forum Exploring Sustainable and Natural After-Death Care Options on Bainbridge Island – Sept. 21

Kevin Dwyer | Posted on September 14, 2024 |

Death, be not proud, though some have called thee

Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so;

For those whom thou think’st thou dost overthrow

Die not, poor Death, nor yet canst thou kill me.

The opening lines to John Donne’s famous Holy Sonnet – “Death, be not proud” sums up humanity’s fear of the afterlife – if there is one – and what may or may not lurk around the next corner, or in his day, six feet under.

We’ve come a long way in understanding death since 1609 when Donne penned his immortal words. Or have we? Death still remains a mystery. Not so much how it happens – that’s a topic best left for doctors, savants, soothsayers and mystics – but more so what happens after our system’s give out, our breath expires, and our brain waves cease to exist. This is the place where Priests, Rabbis, and Mullah’s come into play and where metaphysics might take over.

Donne aside we don’t really know what lurks behind death’s door. Everything we know or think we know is based on faith and religion. Where does the soul go, and all that. What we do understand, or are endeavoring to understand better, is what to with the dead bodies of our family members, friends and acquaintances. Up until recently, people have mostly been buried in a cemetery or family plot, or cremated. There haven’t been too many alternatives. But that’s changing.

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And those emerging trends are behind why a coalition of individuals and organizations on Bainbridge Island has united to examine environment-friendly alternatives to end-of-life arrangements. “With a shared commitment to the sacredness of death and the gifts of nature, this cohesive group explores ways to honor the earth and help families and communities recover their instinctive capacity to care for our dying loved ones,” says Elizabeth Coplan, a spokesperson for EarthRest: A Forum Exploring Sustainable and Natural After-Death Care Options.

The forum will take place on Saturday, September 21, 2024, 1 – 5 p.m., at Island Center Hall on Bainbridge. It is a free event, but registration is encouraged by visiting: https://bit.ly/EarthRest2024.

Speakers include:
• Lucinda Herring, Lucinda Herring MSD – Thresholds Consulting and Ministry, Limina LLC author of Reimagining Death: Stories and Practical Wisdom for Home
Funerals and Green Burials
• Beverly Tryk, People’s Memorial Assoc https://peoplesmemorial.org/
• Laura Sullivan Cassidy, Recompose: https://recompose.lifeiation
• Rachel LeBlanc, The Coop Funeral Home The Co-op Funeral Home of People’s Memorial | Seattle, WA (funerals.coop)
• Sarafina Landis, Dying Matters Guild dyingmattersguild.com – Home
• AJ Hawkins, KALMA: https://www.shopkalma.com/

Joy Sprague, along with fellow Islander Lisa Macchio, founded EarthRest . They are excited to share the resources and knowledge of all the speakers as well as some national data. When asked what benefits the audience can expect to acquire while attending the forum on September 21, Sprague says attendees will gain:

• A better AWARENESS of our reciprocal natural relationship with the earth throughout life and death.
• A better UNDERSTANDING in how to prepare for the care of our own bodies and our loved ones after death in deeply profound and more personal ways.
• Increased COMMUNICATION skills through conversations with a panel of experts on earth-friendly CHOICES surrounding death, dying, and grief.

EarthRest is an organization dedicated to exploring earth-friendly alternatives to end of life arrangements beneficial to our loved ones and our environment. Its mission is to encourage important conversations around death and to align closely with a higher environmental consciousness. “As caregivers for the earth, we are caring for ourselves, our ancestors, and our children,” Sprague says.

The first of its kind forum is sponsorship by Sustainable Bainbridge, Bainbridge Island Metro Park & Recreation District, Green Mountain Technologies, Bainbridge Island Senior Community Center, Island Volunteer Caregivers, Bainbridge Conservation Coalition, Bainbridge Island Senior Living, Grief Dialogues, Gordon Sound, Filipino American Hall, and EdgeWalking.

If you are not familiar with John Donne’s poem, check out the entire 14-line verse below. I had to memorize it in high school!

Holy Sonnets: Death, be not proud

By John Donne

Death, be not proud, though some have called thee

Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so;

For those whom thou think’st thou dost overthrow

Die not, poor Death, nor yet canst thou kill me.

From rest and sleep, which but thy pictures be,

Much pleasure; then from thee much more must flow,

And soonest our best men with thee do go,

Rest of their bones, and soul’s delivery.

Thou art slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men,