Discussion Groups
CONVERSATIONS WORTH HAVING 

Lifelong learners gather to explore a wide range of subjects. Past discussions have explored topics like food insecurity in Indiana; the data center controversy; progressive Christianity; sustainable dietary choices; facts about climate change; gender fluidity; Mysticism; local grass roots initiatives; and more. Some sessions include a guest speaker or presentation, while others unfold as informal group conversations in which participants share their experiences, ideas, and questions around the day’s topic. 

Most of us carry questions we rarely get to talk about as we ponder loss, meaning, aging, mortality, and how we may find–or choose–meaning in our lives. The sessions here make room for those conversations, drawing on books, facilitators, and the accumulated experience of those gathered in the room. Each one is grounded in the belief that intentional reflection among neighbors, supported by a room full of curious people, is among the most valuable practices a community can cultivate.

For thousands of years, humans have wrestled with life’s deepest questions: Why are we here? What is our purpose? How should we live? The great mystical traditions developed practices pointing toward a common experience, a kind of waking up to a deeper reality, recognized across cultures and centuries. In this three-week discussion group, Rev. Dr. Brenda Freije guides us through that territory, drawing on contemplative and mindfulness practices to explore what spiritual awakening looks like and what it means to live with greater wisdom and compassion. An ordained United Methodist minister with advanced degrees in theology and law, Freije serves as President and CEO of the Rethink Coalition in Indianapolis.

Grief doesn’t follow a script. It’s deeply personal, nonlinear, and unpredictable, yet our culture’s discomfort with death has allowed plenty of myths to take root. Joy Dyer, MSW, brings 37 years of clinical social work experience, including eight years in an ICU focused on end-of-life decision-making, plus post-graduate training in advanced bereavement care. Now in private practice in Indianapolis, she specializes in grief in all its forms: death of a loved one, divorce, medical diagnosis, job loss, and any life change that turns your world upside down. She’ll help us separate fact from misconception and find a more compassionate framework for our own grief.

Join us for a warm, open-hearted gathering where people come together to talk about life, death, and everything in between.

A Death Cafe offers a space for conversation, not grief counseling or a seminar but a relaxed and respectful environment where thoughts about mortality can be shared freely. There’s no agenda, no wrong questions, no religious affiliation, and no judgment. Just coffee, tea, snacks, and meaningful discussion by people who are curious, reflective, and open to exploring what death means to us and how it shapes how we live.

Whether you’re pondering legacy, loss, or simply what it means to be human, you’ll find compassionate company here.

Inspired by the global Death Café movement. Sponsored by The Garden and Joy’s House.