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SUMMARY:Life and Death in NYC: Learning to Die Well and Live Now
DESCRIPTION:UPDATE NOV 3: This event is currently at capacity\, but we expect a few tickets to open up. Please feel free to… \nJOIN THE WAITLIST! \n  \nDeath is the one reality we all share—yet it’s the one we most often leave unspoken.  \nLife & Death in New York City is a one-day summit that brings this conversation into the open\, exploring mortality and meaning as a path toward living more fully. Together at the historic Parish of Calvary-St. George’s in Gramercy\, we’ll gather for presentations\, communal conversations\, immersive experiences\, and a shared meal—all designed to illuminate how we may prepare for death in ways that are beautifully hospitable\, deeply human\, and grounded in hope.  \n\nWhat to Expect\nWe will approach learning about death holistically\, exploring themes of lament and joy\, head and body\, heart and hands\, while also gaining practical tools for the end-of-life journey. \nThe day includes: \n\nPlenary sessions with keynote speakers drawn from our network of industry and thought leaders\nTwo breakout sessions with hands-on workshops\, creative activities\, and contemplative practices\, facilitated by local end-of-life practitioners and educators\nA communal lunch\, gathering around the table to feast\, reflect\, and practice presence together\n\n\nSchedule Overview\n\n9:30 am – Check-in and coffee\n10:00 am – Plenary Session #1\n11:00 am – Workshop Session #1\n12:00 pm – Workshop Session #2\n1:00 pm – Lunch Together\n2:00 pm – Plenary Session #2\n3:00 pm – Closing Words\n\nAfterwards: Happy Hour hosted by GiveWillow\nLooking to continue conversations after Life & Death in New York City? GiveWillow is holding Afterwards\, a happy hour event at The Winslow nearby. Whether you are working in the death care profession or simply passionate about human connection\, you’re invited to unwind\, socialize\, and keep chatting! More info and registration for the Happy Hour here.\n\nSpeakers & Presenters\nEmma Acker | End-of-Life Doula & Founder\, All’s Well Initiative \nEmma Acker has been working as an End-of-Life Doula since 2017. She trained under Henry Fersko-Weiss (INELDA)\, and completed the End-of-Life Doula Professional Certificate at The University of Vermont. In 2021\, Emma founded All’s Well Initiative to provide compassionate end-of-life care across the socioeconomic spectrum of NYC. Partnering with the Pathways Program at All Angels’ Church on NYC’s Upper West Side\, Emma created the Health Care “Proxy Project” supporting unhoused individuals. Emma joined University of Vermont’s End-of-Life Doula Professional Certificate Program as an academic instructor in 2025. She is a founding team member of Here to Honor. \n  \nJohn Asirvatham | Spiritual Care Preceptor\, VNS Health Hospice NYC\n \nJohn Asirvatham\, M.Div.\, is a member of the parish of Calvary-St. George’s\, and serves as the Spiritual Care Preceptor for VNS Health Hospice in NYC. He mentors chaplains\, supports families at the end of life\, and preaches regularly at his church. He and his wife Kylee live in New York City\, where they enjoy cooking and hosting dinner parties.\n  \nKatie Benn\, MPH\, RN | Clinical Nurse\, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center \nKatie Benn works at Memorial Sloan Kettering as an oncology nurse with an emphasis on palliative care. Her interest in end-of-life work has come from years of bedside nursing in a culture that remains uncomfortable discussing end-of-life planning. Katie recently published her research Caregiver Perceptions of the Transitions from In-patient to Home Based End of Life Care. She has a background in public health research ranging from collecting mosquitos in Virginia to track West Nile Virus\, to working with school districts in Colorado to promote sun-safe school policies\, to counseling NYC taxicab drivers on ways to improve health and well-being.\n  \nMarni Blank | End-of-Life & After Loss Consultant\, Begin With The End \nMarni Blank is the founder of Begin With The End. Her services are curated to empower individuals and families to prepare for logistical and emotional aspects of death\, dying\, and grief. This can include accountability in completing end-of-life decisions and documents\, facilitating family conversations\, getting your important documents and digital life organized\, and legacy projects. For families in grief\, she offers after loss support to help executors and families work through the paperwork and logistics to close the estate. She is a trained end-of-life doula\, mediator\, after-loss consultant\, recovering lawyer\, and female-founded small business owner (and a lifelong learner at heart).\n  \nChris Dingman | Musician & Program Director\, Transformations \nKnown for his distinctive approach to a unique instrument\, vibraphonist Chris Dingman has worked with legendary artists Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter\, and many of today’s jazz\, creative\, and world music luminaries. Working in NYC since 2002\, Chris’s trajectory changed when\, in 2018\, he improvised and recorded music as an act of care for his father in his final months of life. This music became the 5-hour album Peace. Since then\, Chris has brought his special brand of healing music far and wide\, from live sessions at Omega Institute and The Rubin Museum of Art\, to talks for the Gold Foundation and the American College of Physicians\, and since 2022 to the online series Transformations.\n  \nLydia Dugdale\, MD\, MAR | Director of the Center for Clinical Medical Ethics\, Columbia University \nDr. Lydia Dugdale is the Dorothy L. and Daniel H. Silberberg Professor of Medicine at the Columbia University Medical Center and Director of the Center for Clinical Medical Ethics. She is also Co-Director of Clinical Ethics at NewYork-Presbyterian Milstein Hospital. A physician and medical ethicist\, Lydia speaks and publishes widely\, including in outlets such as The Free Press\, The Wall Street Journal\, and The New York Times. She published the book The Lost Art of Dying: Reviving Forgotten Wisdom with HarperOne and has a forthcoming book on hope. Lydia attended medical school at the University of Chicago\, completed residency training at Yale-New Haven Hospital\, and holds a MAR in ethics from Yale Divinity School.\n  \nSarah Gerth | Dean of City Learning Ecology\, City Seminary of New York \nSarah Gerth is a curriculum designer and researcher specializing in the role of senses\, affects\, and materiality in ways of knowing. Through her role as Dean of City Learning Ecology at City Seminary of New York\, and Curator at CSNY’s Walls-Ortiz Gallery\, she designs learning experiences at the intersection of creative practice\, place\, and theology. She is the co-founder of Shapes of Knowledge\, an experimental studio for knowledge design\, and she shares ways to spark learning anywhere you find yourself\, at the podcast Curriculum Encounters. \n  \nErica Hill | Founder\, Sparrow \nErica Hill is the co-owner of Sparrow\, A Contemporary Funeral Home in Brooklyn\, NY\, and of The Alpha Society by Sparrow in Los Angeles\, CA. She is also a licensed funeral director in California. Erica brings a modern\, thoughtful approach to end-of-life care. Whether arranging traditional funerals\, memorials\, or innovative eco-friendly options such as aquamation and human composting\, her commitment to dignity and respect remains unwavering. As the only funeral home of its kind in the country\, Sparrow is redefining the funeral experience with a warm\, design-forward space and a focus on inclusivity\, transparency\, and innovation. Sparrow has been featured in The New York Times\, NPR\, NBC\, Morning Brew\, and Good Housekeeping.\n  \nDavid Kim | CEO and Co-founder\, Goldenwood \nRev. Dr. David Kim is the CEO and co-founder of Goldenwood\, a non-profit cultivating spiritually attentive communities to envision work enlivened by hope and the fullness of our humanity. Over the past several decades\, David has trained\, consulted\, and counseled hundreds of leaders and organizations in developing a robust\, meaningful integration of faith and work. He has served as the Vice President of Faith and Work\, Executive Director of the Center for Faith & Work and Director of the Gotham Fellowship\, and as Editor of the NIV Faith and Work Bible. David’s passion is to help people and organizations see the unseen realities that give rise to the world we create.\n  \nKaty McNulty | Director of Operations\, Pixie Scout \nKaty McNulty is the Director of Operations for Pixie Scout\, a catering and hospitality company that she helped to found in 2014. She has a professional culinary background and spent many years cooking in some of New York City’s beloved restaurants. Katy is involved in several community-led projects addressing systemic food insecurity and serves on the Leadership Council for the NYC Food Policy Alliance.\n  \nDaphne McWilliams | End-of-Life Doula\, Daphne Mac \nDaphne McWilliams is an End-of-Life Doula who offers calm\, compassionate presence to those navigating death and grief. Daphne received certificates in End-of-Life Doula Training under Henry Fersko-Weiss in 2023 and through the International End-of-Life Doula Association (INELDA) in 2024. She also received the Companion Animal End-of-Life Doula Professional Certificate from the Osher Center for Integrative Health at The University of Vermont (2025). Her work honors each person’s story\, helping them find meaning\, comfort\, and dignity in life’s final chapter.\n\n  \nChristopher Nicolson | Co-Founder/Partner\, Iliamna Fish Company \nChristopher Nicolson was born in Montana to a native Alaskan mother and an Australian father. Through his mother’s multigenerational and indigenous family fishing business\, he has been a commercial fisherman in Alaska\, during the summer months\, since childhood. For the past 25 years\, he has worked as a winemaker in California\, Italy\, and now in New York. He and his wife Emily (who manages and operates their family’s fish-selling business) live in Brooklyn\, New York during the months of August through May\, where Christopher makes wine from fruit grown on the North Fork of Long Island.\n\n  \nEva Ting | Founder/CEO\, Here to Honor \nEva Ting is the Founder/CEO of Here to Honor\, a social enterprise that cultivates community around end-of-life learning through offering death education and hosting events. Prior to starting Here to Honor\, Eva served as the Director of W83 Ministry Center at Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City. With a career in arts and events management spanning Boston\, Shanghai\, and New York\, she is passionate about creating meaningful community experiences. Eva trained as an end-of-life doula with INELDA (International End-of-Life Doula Association)\, and she holds a B.A. in English and B.S. in journalism from Boston University\, and an M.A. in visual arts administration from New York University.\n  \n\nWorkshops\n\nAt registration\, you can select your preferred workshop to attend for each session: \nPlanning Ahead for Solo Aging & Thriving\nMany of us may find ourselves navigating our later years without a traditional family support system—perhaps single\, widowed\, divorced\, or living far from relatives. In this practical and encouraging workshop\, lawyer turned end-of-life doula Marni Blank will help participants identify personal support networks and create action plans for aging with confidence and joy. \nLive Music: Transformations for Grief\nYou are invited to come as you are\, with any kind of grief you may be carrying\, for a session of meditative music performed by acclaimed vibraphonist Chris Dingman and facilitated with guided prompts by end-of-life doula Daphne McWilliams. You are encouraged to get comfortable—feel free to bring your own yoga mat or blanket\, and some mats will be available for use as well. \nFrom Life to Death: Mortality in Winemaking\nWine is often associated with conviviality\, sometimes gladness. But the process of winemaking involves laying grapes to rest\, and stages of decay\, death…even rebirth. What can we glean from winemaking that speaks to our own mortality? Join winemaker Christopher Nicolson and chef Katy McNulty for a conversation around feasting and celebrating with the end in mind. \nSensing the City Walk (this workshop will take place outside)\nPause and practice attentiveness on this guided walk in the nearby Gramercy neighborhood with educator Sarah Gerth. Provided prompts will invite participants to slow down and hone their senses to become more present and attuned to their everyday surroundings. \nHow to Talk about End-of-Life Planning\nCommunicating one’s medical care preferences and final wishes is an important but often challenging process. In this introductory workshop\, oncology nurse Katie Benn will provide overview knowledge\, practical resources and professional insight to help participants ease into end-of-life conversations with family and friends. \n\nTickets & Registration\nYour ticket includes: access to plenary sessions with keynote speakers\, two workshops of your choice\, a communal lunch\, and guided experiences in a historic gathering space designed to nourish reflection\, conversation\, and community. \nTicket Cost: Choose your Tier – A Pricing Model Rooted in Generosity & Relationship \nAt Goldenwood\, we believe in a gift economy—where our work and giving is not transactional but part of a relational and generative system. Like a root network\, where some trees bear more fruit in one season and others in another\, this pricing approach allows for a shared ecosystem of flourishing: some contribute more so that others may receive\, and all are sustained together. Our tiered pricing model reflects this\, and we invite you toparticipate in a way that reflects your own season and capacity.\n1. Full Value (Sustainable Tier) – $135\nReflects the true cost and value—while balancing affordability—including the unseen work that makes this a meaningful and transformative experience. Includes lunch\, sessions & materials. \n2. Covering Costs (Supported Tier) – $100*\nCovers only the essentials—venue\, speakers\, materials\, and your meal—ensuring the program is financially viable. Includes lunch\, sessions & materials. \n3. Generative Giving – $165+\nGoes beyond covering costs\, helping make this event accessible to others and investing in the longer term flourishing of this work. Includes lunch\, sessions & materials. \n*If cost is a barrier\, please reach out to hello@heretohonor.com—we’re happy to explore further scholarship options with you. \n\nJoin the Waitlist \n(We’ll distribute tickets that become available on a first come\, first served basis) \n  \n\nQuestions?\n📩 hello@heretohonor.com \n\n\n\n\nSponsors (more to be added)\nThank you to our event sponsors: \n \nGiveWillow\nGiveWillow is on a mission to transform how people experience and support each other through grief. We offer the first-of-its-kind funeral registry\, making it easier to show up for loss in a meaningful way.\n🌐 GiveWillow.com \n_________ \n\n\nRe-well\nAt Re-well\, we provide restorative health care for your body\, soul + spirit. Via evidence based Functional Medicine we identify to the root cause of disease\, so you can optimize your health\, prevent disease\, and heal.\n🌐 the-rewell.com \n_________ \n\n \nThe Parish of Calvary-St.George’s\nCalvary-St. George’s is a historic New York City parish\, proclaiming the faith of Christ and Him crucified.  We accomplish this through a ministry of word and sacrament so that people might faithfully live in this age\, and in the age to come\, have life everlasting.\n🌐 calvarystgeorges.org \n_________ \n\nCoda Estate Law PLLC\nCoda Estate Law is a flat-fee estate planning and estate administration law firm serving clients in New York City and the Hudson Valley.\n🌐 codaestatelaw.com \n_________ \n \nNYC Senior Care Authority\nSenior Care Authority helps older adults and their families make informed decisions about senior living and care. We provide senior living placement\, eldercare consulting\, and patient advocacy services.\n🌐 seniorcareauthority.com\n \n_________ \n\nFord Financial Solutions\, LLC\nFee-only financial planning with purpose. We believe money can and should bring wholeness to your life\, family\, and community.\n🌐 fordfinancialsolutions.com \n_________ \n\nIliamna Fish Company\nIliamna Fish Co. is a family-owned\, Indigenous cooperative from Bristol Bay\, Alaska\, offering sustainably harvested wild sockeye salmon through a CSA-style program that allows individuals across the U.S. to join as shareholders in our harvest.\n🌐 redsalmon.com \n\n_________ \n\n\n\n\n\n\nInheritance of Hope\nInspiring hope in young families facing the loss of a parent.\n🌐 InheritanceOfHope.org \n_________ \n\n\n\n \nInspir\nLuxury Senior Living\n🌐 inspirseniorliving.com \n_________ \n\nLifeWorx\nThe premier five-star-rated\, independently owned private pay home care agency providing concierge elder care & lifestyle services in your community for over 20 years.\n🌐 lifeworx.com \n_________ \n\nPixie Scout\nPixie Scout is a collaborative team of food and hospitality professionals creating and sharing food and beverage provisions in service of joyful food experiences.\n🌐 pixiescout.com \n_________ \n\nSparrow: A Contemporary Funeral Home\nLocated in Brooklyn\, Sparrow offers a modern\, compassionate approach to end-of-life care. Sparrow combines thoughtful design\, inclusivity\, and unmatched attention to detail to help families say goodbye in meaningful\, authentic ways.\n🌐 sparrowny.com \n \nPlanting seeds of creativity to transform community and redefine aging.\n🌐 trellisworksfoundation.org \n_________ \n\nTrustworthy\nThe Family Operating System® by Trustworthy — an AI-powered digital assistant that helps families organize\, protect\, and act on their most important information. Trustworthy is redefining how modern families manage life.\n🌐 trustworthy.com \n_________ \n\n\nINELDA\nINELDA\, the International End-of-Life Doula Association\, is a nonprofit\, mission-driven organization formed in 2015 dedicated to supporting individuals and their circle of care in end-of-life planning and practices. INELDA provides education\, resources\, community\, and advocacy to inspire social awareness and compassionate\, accessible deathcare\, with an emphasis on the roles of end-of-life doulas.\n🌐 inelda.org \n_________ \nSpecial thanks to our friends John Alsdorf\, Hanneke Block\, Beverly Chung\, Christine Evans\, Louis Kim\, Jennifer Kwong\, Olga Lah and Nico Nortje! \n\n\n\n\n\nSponsorship Opportunities\nInterested in helping cultivate community with us at Life & Death in New York City? We invite you to join us as an event sponsor! To learn more\, email us at hello@heretohonor.com. \n\nPresented By\nThis event is co-presented by: \nAll’s Well InitiativeGuided by the belief that relational connection is every person’s deepest need\, right up to their last breath\, we provide personalized companionship and doula services to those facing end-of-life challenges.🌐 www.allswellinitiative.com \nGoldenwoodA nonprofit cultivating spiritually attentive communities to envision work enlivened by hope and the fullness of our humanity. We offer programs and resources that reimagine work and life for today and generations to come.🌐 www.goldenwoodnyc.org \nHere to HonorA social enterprise cultivating community around end-of-life learning so that everyone feels supported in facing mortality and equipped to make informed decisions.🌐 www.heretohonor.com
URL:https://goldenwoodnyc.org/event/life-and-death-in-nyc/
LOCATION:St. George’s Episcopal Church\, 4 Rutherford Place\, New York\, NY\, 10003\, United States
CATEGORIES:Institute
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