A Sunday dive into death (and life) at Green-Wood Cemetery

Green-Wood Cemetery's death-education program doesn't sugar-coat mortality.

"We know that we're all going to die and we want resources and information, and the people who can be on your team when you are most in need," said Manager Gabrielle Gatto, the public programs manager at the Brooklyn Cemetery.

It's the motivation behind Green-Wood's Sunday in the Cemetery, which features a sampling of talks, workshops and tours offered year-round. The experience shows guests the end-of-life process through diverse and unique perspectives.

Gatto and the Development, Programming and Education team at Green-Wood put together a day-long itinerary. It included workshops for using meditation and weaving as tools to cope with grief; a tour highlighting art and symbolism in Green-Wood's memorials; as well as talks on navigating pet grief, natural burials and frank conversations with death-care professionals.

Mary Pat Klein leads the Grieving and Weaving workshop. She explains how "sometimes that act of creating - moving your hands, being able to express your emotions through other avenues, other than words - is helpful."

The close-knit community drew Sev Gedra to the program. Gedra points out that "grief doesn't have to be alone." She says working on her tambour beading headpiece during Grieving and Weaving has been "really helpful and cathartic."