Death, Ancestorship, and the Love of Life - Part 1: A conversation with Stephen Jenkinson - DLG25

You are welcome to attend both parts or only the first or second part, to be alone or together with other people in front of your device, to prepare a candle and any traditional food for the process, to share your story or just to connect and listen, be and observe.

Part 1 - A conversation with Stephen Jenkinson

How to approach grief and death from a place of wellbeing, and even joy? How to keep walking in the midst of it all? And what might true elderhood mean - and how may it be envisioned, and approached - in a collapsing culture, bent on the pursuit of eternal youth? Such questions have long been at the heart of Stephen Jenkinson's work. He will be with us for a Q&A on his work and insights.

Defining himself as a culture activist, worker, and author, Stephen Jenkinson (MTS, MSW) was apprenticed to a master storyteller when a young man, and worked extensively with dying people and their families. He is former programme director in a major Canadian hospital, and former assistant professor in a prominent Canadian medical school. He co-founded the Orphan Wisdom School with his wife Nathalie Roy in 2010. In 2015, he co-founded a musical project, The Nights of Grief and Mystery, with singer/songwriter Gregory Hoskins. Stephen is also a sculptor and traditional canoe builder. His written works include Matrimony: Ritual, Culture and the Heart’s Work (2025); A Generation’s Worth: Spirit Work While the Crisis Reigns (2021); Come of Age: The Case for Elderhood in a Time of Trouble (2018); and the award-winning Die Wise: A Manifesto for Sanity and Soul (2015), among others.

Time: Nov.1, 2-3.30pm UTC (see your local time here)
Please register here.

Part 2 - Honouring our Ancestors in Songs and Stories

Antonina and Maria Kulyasova will invite us to a moment of connection with our ancestors and other passed beings. In stories and songs, we will create space in which to summon the presence and lives of those who have shaped us and whose heritage we carry, and honour their memory.

Antonina and Maria are mother and daugther. They have studied and practiced folk culture, forging a strong connection to traditional village life. Together, they will facilitate a collaborative online process that honors the memories of those who passed away while performing traditional songs associated with this special day in the year.

Time: Nov.1, 3.30-5pm UTC (see your local time here)
Please register here.

You can register for Deep Live Gathering 2025, or just come to this event. 

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