Transition Margaret River has formed a new focus group called Death and Dying Matters.
Margaret River resident Mary Flynn initiated the group a few months ago following the death of her ex-husband last year which made her question the importance of ritual of family and community participation in the funeral process.
Shortly after this, Mary heard Richard Fidler on ABC interviewing Jenny Briscoe-Hough, who recounted a similar experience surrounding the death of her mother. Mary shared details of the podcast at the annual meeting.
The newly formed 'Death and Dying Matters' group has since gained strong community support and quickly grown to over 35 people.
Mary Flynn noticed others in her community who had shared a sense of confusion and loss.
"There were many others who had experienced similar feelings of regret, disorientation, a lack of completion, and feeling lost in the whole end of life process," she said.
"The aim of the group is to normalise and bring dying and death back into community so that all can be involved in a process that is natural, inevitable, healing and holistic."
The group is looking into the legal matters that need to be attended to while of sound mind; hospice and palliative care; relevant community care of and support for family; and funeral, burial and cremation options and importantly talking about the rituals around death and dying so that loss isn't such a devastating experience.
Mary's friend and local resident Kym Walker, whose husband died when she was still a young woman in her late thirties, was left profoundly distressed by the way his funeral was conducted.
Due to her lack of knowledge and informed community support, she was unable to deliver the funeral he had wished for.
"I am very aware of how much is lost to us as a community through our lack of knowledge and empowerment around the rituals of death and dying," said Kym, now a Civil Funeral Celebrant.
Mary and her fellow Transitioners would like to invite anybody who has personal or professional interests and/or experience in the field of Death and Dying to come to a public meeting to discuss what could be made possible in the community.
The open meeting will be held on Saturday 6th April 2019 at 2 to 5pm at the The Old Chapel in the grounds of the Margaret River Community Centre, Tunbridge Street, Margaret River.
