End Of Year Wrap Up 2023

Hello everyone,

It's nearly the end of 2023, and what a huge year it has been. For some of you, this will be the first year that you are spending the festive season without someone who was really important to you. Whether this is the first, fourth or twentieth year, we remind you to go gently, keep breathing out, and keep the storytelling of their lives going as you hold them closely in your heart.

Alongside our primary purpose of meeting with you as doulas, funeral directors, celebrants and counsellors, here is what else this year has held for us. 

Friday Film Nights at the Fun Home

Our inaugural film night program was very popular! We travelled through some classics: Departures, Truly Madly Deeply and Dick Johnson is Dead. We welcomed a mix of committed Life Rites film goers and new people each session, who discovered that watching death & grief themed films at a funeral home on a Friday night was actually a really fun thing to do! 
Alongside the discussions, popcorn, chai and Sonja's world famous chocolate caramel slice, we loved opening our fun home to these events that re-centre the funeral home as part of our community as an alive and vital place, that cares for the living and the dead.

Dying to Know Day

Our annual Open Day for Dying to Know Day in August was a busy and rewarding day. We spoke to attendees about doula-led care, home-based after-death care and the care of babies and infants.

We showed how we utilise our funeral home and chapel for family-led ceremonies, what paperwork is good to get in order, and the absolute favourite - access to and the tour of our mortuary. Rich and valuable discussions were had by all.

Our Community Outreach program continued in 2023...

Social Workers Visit
We welcomed Masters students and lecturers from the University of Sydney's School of Education and Social Work, for an excursion that formed part of the unit of study - Dying Death and Mourning. We spoke about the Life Rites model of care, and what is possible when meeting people at the threshold of life and death, grief and love. One of the lecturers wrote to us afterwards saying, "Your wholistic approach to dying, death and mourning aligns so perfectly with the values, and ethics of social work... hopefully it will also shape the way they [the students] accompany those they support."

Grief Circle
This year we began our Grief Circle, a monthly event at our funeral home facilitated by Jude and Skye. It is open to all our clients. We will continue to offer this in 2024. If this is something you feel you may like to attend, please reach out. 

Stitch
We hosted a 2 hour meet & greet for members of the Stitch social group. These members were keen to come to our funeral home and see what doula-led end of life care looks like. We initiated conversations to support them to have relevant conversations with the people they love, to engage in doula consults for themselves or their families, and to start getting their affairs in order.

Voluntary Assisted Dying (VAD)
Life Rites team members met with local VAD nurses and consulted with colleagues in other states where VAD is already available, readying ourselves for the beginning of this choice and process in NSW. 

Advocacy
We continued our community advocacy with spreading the death literacy language in radio interviews, on panels, death cafes and more.

Thank you to the ABC Radio who interviewed Victoria on Late Nite Live, speaking about death and dying with the release of THRESHOLD; terminal lucidity and the border between life and death by Alexander Batthyány. You can read more about this book here. 

Sarah was interviewed on ABC Radio Sydney Drive, speaking about Living Wakes. Listen here: Sarah's segment begins at the 2 hours and 48 minutes mark.

Victoria moderated a forum,'The Future of Death' as part of the UTS House program in the SxSW Festival. It was a fascinating panel of forensic scientists, a coroner, health and well being researchers, with vibrant audience discussion.

Sonja continued to reach out to her community and aged care facilities on the North Shore, informing them of doula led care. In many cases, she responded to Nursing Home enquires after experiencing our services and many fruitful and much needed conversations are underway. 

Kim facilitated death cafes, community event presentations, Dying to Know day events, and teamed up with local social workers and interested parties for the Compassionate community group in the Shire.

Dementia Doula Training Dementia
Both Vic and Sonja completed the foundation training to be Dementia Doulas,  and Sonja went on to complete the advanced course. There is so much to learn and do in this space.

Cosmic Nuns

Vic and Sarah performed again as the Cosmic Nuns, this time at the 24 Hour Grumble Boogie at Performance Space as part of World Pride. They took to the stage in skeleton suits at dawn, dropping audience members into the liminal space of the Life Rites mortuary temple. This photo was taken after the event (Vic & Sarah were very tired!), with Aunty Rhonda Dixon-Grovenor who both opened and closed the 24 hour experience. 

TEAM WRAP UP

Alongside all of this, we continued to grow and consolidate as a team and a company and to conduct our primary purpose, of leading and following all who come to us through their dying, death and funeral rites, so that each person is celebrated and honoured in a real and truthful way. Together, we lay the foundation for healthy grieving by getting our funeral rites right. 

From the team...

Victoria
Vic continued to lead and oversee the development of our team, so as to keep providing the best care we can, to all who walk through our door and to our team members. Amongst the all and everything, Vic went on an extended leave for 6 weeks, culminating in ongoing somatic training. This was a valuable time for a deep rest, to see the company thrive in her absence and also to begin the vision of next steps for Life Rites. 

Vaike
As the company backbone, Vaike has continued to facilitate building our internal team processes around socially just and progressive aims. Shout out to RadHR !

Skye
In Skye's first year with Life Rites, she has loved the Life Rites way of travelling far and wide both physically and emotionally to extend our loving service to where it needs to be. She stepped into the Grief Circles alongside Jude, and is loving seeing Living Wakes rocking in the new world!

Kim
Kim and Vaike had a weekend away to attend the Holistic approach to Spiritual Palliative Care. In addition to her community facilitation mentioned above, she has loved taking care of all the pre-term babies who have come into our care, along with their parents.

Sonja
In Sonja's first year with Life Rites, she has taken on the pets and paperwork project for anyone who wants to talk about their furry friends as a gentle way to start end of life planning. Alongside Dementia Doula training, VAD learnings, organ, tissue and body donation awareness, Sonja also found people to make coffin cookies, that not only look good, taste good too!

Vicki
In Vicki's first year with Life Rites, they have been involved in their immediate community, helping their friends get their Life Rites in order. They continue to take care of the living and the dead through massage and mortuary care. 

Pat
Pat has participated in webinars and conferences about Voluntary Assisted Dying . 

She spoke to several aged care homes in the local Hurstville area, and was delighted that some care staff were aware of the role of doulas and holistic funeral care.  She plans to follow up with them and offer education sessions for the residents and staff.

Sarah
The highlight for Sarah this year was being the celebrant at her friend and longtime doula client Annie's living wake, down near Bega. It was an incredibly joyous  and magical day where Annie was truly celebrated by her friends, her wife and her two children. Imogen Dewey from the Guardian interviewed Annie about her Ultimate Celebration, and you can read all about it here.

As our team keeps on consolidating, so too are we better able to support you and care for your people. Thank you for trusting us to be in your lives this year. This photo is from our end of year company dinner last night - a fun and joyful way to finish of a big year.

Sending you our warmest wishes during this time, and beyond.

Love,
The Life Rites team.