Being Present for a Friend Who Is Grieving (Flamekeeper Series #4) [public]

​This is Session #4 of 4 in the Flamekeeper Series.

​Supporting a friend in grief can be a uniquely challenging situation. We’ll explore:

• ​How might I offer empathetic support when it feels like we couldn’t possibly understand someone’s unique pain?

• ​How might I hold space when it feels like words are inadequate?

• ​How might we walk alongside another to honor loss through presence and ritual?

​We will hear from two practitioners with intimate experience holding space for those who have lost something or someone in their lives.

​Annanda Barclay (she/they) is a cis, queer chaplain and end-of-life doula, specializing in advanced end-of-life planning and financial education. She trained as a chaplain at Stanford's Center for CPE and the Office for Religious and Spiritual Life, where her research focused on moral injury in STEM fields. Her doula training was completed with Going with Grace, founded by Alua Arthur, known for her viral TED Talk on death and dying. Annanda is also the creator and host of the Moral Repair podcast, part of the Big Questions Project with PRX Productions and the John Templeton Foundation.

​Tida Beattie is a labyrinth facilitator at The Collabyrinth, a grief educator and peer support facilitator, and an end of life doula trained though Doulagivers, Denise Love’s Life Options, and Zen Caregiving Project. Her past professional arc includes labors of love and purpose in hospitality for chefs Gabriela Camara, Nancy Oakes, and Cat Cora. Prior to that career change, she was a financial analyst for Accenture and the mafia, via EDS. She earned her MBA in international finance through Thunderbird and her BA in international relations through Johns Hopkins. She loves food, cooking, farmers’ markets, BTS, contemporary art, her awesome kids, and most of the time, her Bernedoodle.

​The session will be moderated by Seanan Fong, Founding Director of the SF Contemplarium.

​We will have a lively fireside chat in the first hour, followed by an interactive skill-building workshop in the second hour.

​​🕕 Agenda

• ​​2–2:10pm: Arrive & Check-in

• ​2:10pm–3pm: Fireside Chat followed by Q&A

• ​3pm–4pm: Interactive Workshop

• ​​4:15pm: optional information session and conversation about Neighborhood Flamekeepers — join us!

​​📍 Finding 550 Laguna

​​We'll meet in 550 Laguna (the corner of Hayes & Laguna). Once you arrive, go down the stairs to the basement level to enter space, check in, and please take your shoes off at the door.

​​​We are grateful to partner with The Commons to host this event in their incredible space. The Commons is a modern-day town square for communal meaning-making, personal discovery, and self-expression in the heart of San Francisco. Learn more about The Commons here.

​​About the SF Contemplarium

​​​​Presented by the San Francisco Contemplarium, a neighborhood institution creating space for honoring our human journey.