Hi all ✨

If you know me, you know that I love finding + creating connection. Better yet if we can do it in a playful kind of way.

Last month, we put a call out to see who might be interested in being set-up on a deathworker blind “date.” Our Grave Encounters experiment paired members for one slightly mysterious, low-pressure professional hang: think shop talk. Big questions. Small wonderings. Maybe some laughs and even future collaborations. Or — just a solid bit of time getting to know another friendly face in our growing ecosystem. We created eight matches, and can’t wait to see where they go. 

If you missed out this time and just felt a flicker of “wait, I want in on that!”, let us know! These experiments, this relational infrastructure that we are building — that all lives inside our membership. More information below on how to join.

Warmly,

Robin Miniter, Co-Founder of The DC Death Collective

✨DID YOU KNOW THAT THE DCDC HAS A MEMBERSHIP OPTION?✨

Our supporting members are a growing community of people in the DC area who volunteer or work or have interest in death care. We are death doulas, officiants, grief guides, morticians, cemeterians, and even a death poet. We get together in person at brunches and other events, we hold online gatherings, we have a Discord server, and even offer death cafes and a book club. One of the benefits of supporting membership is visibility on our website directory.

Interested? Join us! 

✨WHAT WE’RE READING✨

by Ali Brill, DCDC Steering Committee Member

In January, the Memento Mori Book Club finished Amy Shea’s brand new (2025) book Too Poor to Die: The Hidden Realities of Dying in the Margins. The book focuses on what happens to folks that can’t cover disposition expenses, or go “unclaimed” at their time of death. I was excited to support the reading of this book because I love challenging the common saying, “Death is the great equalizer.” Those of us living in the U.S. know all too well that we do not live equally–why would we assume we die that way? We all experience death, as mortal beings, but death comes to each of us with different context. Too Poor to Die outlines some of the many ways human deaths differ based on levels of privilege and overall situatedness. I’ll leave you with an impactful quote from Shea: 

Death is supposed to be the great equalizer. The thing we all experience regardless of our class, race, or any other identities we’ve held or experiences we’ve had in life. Yet not all deaths are created equal. Not everyone has a good or dignified death or is treated with respect and dignity once dead. (p. 37)

Next up: A belated New Year’s challenge–Memento Mori: The Art of Contemplating Death to Live a Better Life by Joanna Ebenstein. This is a workbook-style read, meant to inspire lots of personal reflection! In the spirit of starting the new year with more contemplation on our fleeting time as Earthlings, I’ve created a 2026 Memento Mori Bingo Board to pair with our reflections on Memento Mori (the book). If you complete a bingo pattern by our March book club meeting (& attend), I’ll reward you with a deathy treat 💀. Hope to see you there!

Ali Brill leads the Memento Mori Book Club in Takoma Park, MD

✨UPCOMING EVENTS✨

💛  Demystify Death Nature Walk | February 16th, February 21st | 2:00p-3:30p📍Glencarlyn Park, Arlington, VA | $20-$60 sliding scale pricing options.

Join an intimate nature walk that will evoke connections with the seasonality of the natural world and your mortality. We will discern how we can live more fully by considering our eventual death. 

E-mail Kristen for registration. More information here.

💛 Conversation Over Cake: Death Cafe, Arlington Public Library| Tuesday, February 24th; March 31st| 6:00–7:00 PM 📍 2100 Clarendon Blvd, Arlington, VA

Please call 703-228-3352 or email Lib-Courthouse@arlingtonva.us for more information.

💛 Death Cafes at All Souls Unitarian Church | Sunday, March 1st, April 5th, May 3rd, 2026| 12:10–1:30 PM 📍 1500 Harvard Street NW

Join DCDC steering committee member Leslie Tolf for the newly launched cafe gathering ~ email her to register. 

💛 DC Death Collective Virtual Check-In | Sunday, March 1st, 2026 | 5:00–5:30 PM |📍 Google Meet link, no RSVP necessary

A gentle, monthly drop-in. Come say hi. Bring your thoughts, questions, or just your face. Whether you’re knee-deep in this work or quietly circling it, this is a space to connect, reflect, and be in community

💛 Death Cafe at Congressional Cemetery | Thursday, March 5th; Thursday, March 12th, 2026 | 6:00–7:00 PM |📍 The Historic Congressional Cemetery Chapel, 1801 E St SE, Washington, DC

Our Death Doula in Residence, Laura Lyster-Mensh, represents the Cemetery at these events.

Free to attend. You're welcome to bring something to share—tea, sweets, or a small donation (suggested $5) to support event costs.

Due to space limits, please reserve your seat in advance. Seat reservations: HERE

💛 VIRTUAL: Death Café East Rockville, MD
Wednesday, March 11th, 2026 | 7:00–8:00 PM

The East Rockville Death Cafe is a community of people interested in being thoughtful about death and dying. Email pdubroof@assistinghands.com for the meeting ID and Password.

💛 Memento Mori Book Club | Sunday, March 29th, 6:00p |📍People's Book, 7014-A Westmoreland Ave Takoma Park, MD | Memento Mori: The Art of Contemplating Death to Live a Better Life by Joanna Ebenstein

RSVP on Partiful: https://partiful.com/e/58He3pXbPxUUosWwqlnH?c=JYWYwIv4

Have an event that you’d like to submit to our calendar? Let us know.

Interested in becoming a member of the DC Death Collective? Join us.