Autumn Neighborhood Ingathering 2025

​Gather with neighbors at the Autumn Neighborhood Ingathering, where we will come together to honor our encounters with loss and the turn of the season.

​In our lives, we all experience loss of all sizes (great and small – people, hopes, chapters of life, etc.) that deserve the space to be honored and held. As our natural world brings shorter days and falling leaves with the turn of the season, we’ll gather together to spend time together to honor these losses. We’ll do this through a mix of thoughtful rituals, and through space to connect and reflect with group or solo options.

​Sample schedule:

• ​​Intro to the turn of the season

• ​​Storytelling reflection 

• ​​Altar creation ceremony (representing a loss in clay)

• ​​Breakout activities (choose your own adventure)

• ​​Altar release ceremony (salt and re-membering)

​What to bring:

• ​Something to write on/with

• ​Optional: If you want to bring a memento (e.g. a photo or keepsake) of something or someone you have lost as a supplement to the altar creation ceremony, you may do so. Decorations like flowers are also welcome!

• ​An open heart

​This will also be the debut event put on by our new Neighborhood Flamekeeper Cohort (https://www.sfcontemplarium.org/fkcohort), a group that supports the neighborhood of Hayes Valley and Lower Haight through skills of emotional support and human connection.

​​Presented by the San Francisco Contemplarium, a neighborhood institution focused on honoring our human journey through contemplative events, installations, and programs that serve the neighborhood to help people slow down and connect.