Charlene Suggs

Caring for the Dead: Last Rites and Rights
As our community ages, many families and clergy seek a holistic body of funeral rites and practices that honor our dead and comfort the living in ways that reflect our Earth-based spirituality. As an Earth-based culture, what do we really feel about death, the inevitable topic? Join us as we undertake a frank and lively discussion on death, natural processes and current death care practices. We can empower ourselves in caring for our dead (and our finances!) by educating ourselves about our legal/consumer rights and the workings of the funeral industry. We will learn how our death choices affect the earth and share some new memorial concepts including natural burial and death midwifery. (Note: This workshop is appropriate for mature children and receptive adults but not those squeamish about decay and bodily processes - your choice, of course.)
Living the Dream: Creating Land-Based Community
While life in community is a utopian dream for many, the reality and process of forming sustainable community is not for the faint of heart! What principles guide us as we build cooperative relationships on common ground? From her experience as founding president of Wisteria, Charlene will share practical considerations for successful formation of land-based ventures: initial formation process, stewardship, legal structures, organizational theory, economics, decision-making models, and other amazing real-life stories from Wisteria, a land-based community in southern Ohio.