Bringing Death to Life – 27th August 2011
All Saints Arts and Youth Centre, Friars Walk, Lewes.
Free Entry
ARKA Original Funerals of Brighton opened its new office in Lansdown Place Lewes, in July this year, with the ceremonies and celebrant company, Light on Life.
ARKA Original Funerals and Light on Life are recognised leading experts in natural death and green funerals and between them have many years of experience and insight.
Bringing Death to Life is being held at All Saints Arts and Youth Centre, Friars Walk on the 27th August.
Their joint event – is a stimulating and vibrant look at death and dying, how it is an integral part of our community and how we all can manage the process with dignity for the families and friends involved and respect to our environment at the same time.
ARKA Original Funeralsand Light on Life want to open up the mysterious world of funerals and give people the opportunity to get information, advice and, from this day in particular, take a look at how we can celebrate someone’s life through the empowerment of the friends and family who may be left behind.
On the day we will be running workshops on:
Enhancing your experience of living and dying – Hermoine Elliott – Living Well Dying Well
2.30pm (1.5 hours approximately)
How can we maintain our wellbeing and quality of life, up until the end of life? What’s important to us? So few of us take the time to be clear, make choices or be pro-active about our wishes. We will create a safe and supportive environment, working alongside you to show how to create the conditions that would best support you and your loved ones through the journey of life and death.
Celebrating the person who has died – Peter Murphy – Light on Life
4pm (1 hour approximately)
The conversation will cover Preparation for a Ceremony; Decorating a beautiful ceremony space ; Words, choosing poetry and prose and ways of writing the Eulogy; Music, for reflection, the songs we sing. Ritual.
Peter will encourage you to follow your heart to create a ceremony full of meaning for you and your loved one. With the right help and support it can be a wonderful thing to do.
‘A ritual is a journey of the heart, which should lead us into the inner realm of the psyche and ultimately, into that of the soul, the ground of our being. Rituals, if performed with respect passion and devotion, will enhance our desire and strengthen our capacity to live. New rituals will evolve but the ancient rituals and liturgies are also capable of rediscovery as we learn to make them our own…… James- Roose Evans.
Planning a funeral – taking control – Julie Gill – ARKA Original Funerals
1.30pm (1 hour approximately)
Your Perfect Funeral
What would you want?
To be buried under an oak tree?
Have your ashes scattered in your garden?
A string quartet?
Six white horses pulling your coffin in a glass coach?
Take some time to imagine your perfect funeral. There are so many ways to create the funeral that suits you, and more options than you probably ever knew. You can have fun thinking about transport, coffins, your favouite music and your final resting place, and hear about some of the amazing choices other people have made too.
Julie from Arka Original Funerals will be encouraging you to let your imagination flow and to follow your heart in this honest, adventurous and playful session.
What is a ‘green funeral’? – Cara Mair – Director of ARKA Original Funerals
12.30pm (1 hour approximately)
Cara will be leading a discussion about her work in the alternative / green funeral world. She will be discussing how ARKA developed, the work that it does and most importantly answering any questions about the funeral ‘industry’ that you may have.
Please email info@arkafunerals.co.uk to book and guarantee your place on any the above workshops. For further details please visit the ARKA Original Funerals website, www.arkafunerals.co.uk
Alternatively turn up as early as you can on the day to book your place and meet experts from the green funeral world who will be on hand to give information and advice.
We will have demonstrations from a leading willow coffin manufacturer and we will also have lovely food and refreshments to buy.
Free Entry and Doors are open from 12 noon until 6pm
How embarrassing. Just discovered that now you CAN leave comments bigging up Captain Cara and her crew. Well, I have done so on the article above so please read, but to recap, Cara is the real deal and I am thrilled she and her merry band of woman are expanding. Good luck to all, lucky Lewes, a town full of citizens not consumers. as Fat Freddy used to say, “Fuck ’em if they can’t take a joke,”
[…] second was ARKA’s Bringing Death to Life show in Lewes. An atmosphere of cheerful informality was inviting to the casual visitor, and a good […]
Charles, you were a real hero to travel so many miles to be with us, ‘the ARKA team’ on Saturday and it was lovely to meet dear Ted again if only briefly.
I still laugh and feel so uplifted when recalling your first visit to ARKA. Just how a Funeral directors should be; flying fur and leaflets as two large dogs rampaged around the shop, with us too week with laughter to stop them. Finally – thank you for your interest and encouragement with ‘Finishing Touches.’