Upcoming events
Sitting with Impermanence
Join us at the Iowa City Zen Center for a short period of meditation along with a short reading to prompt a discussion on impermanence. We’re currently reading a book by Pema Chödrön. While there is a Buddhist flavor to this event, everyone is welcome. No experience with meditation is necessary.
Grief Support Group
A grief support group meeting on the 2nd and 4th Thursdays at Zion Lutheran Church (310 N Johnson St, Iowa City). The group meets from 3:30-5:00pm in Zion Lutheran’s lower level Gathering Room.
Suggested donation is $10-20 per person. Attendees can just show up or email Annie at annmb918@gmail.com for information. This group meets in-person only. This is a facilitated peer support group.
Sitting with Impermanence
Join us at the Iowa City Zen Center for a short period of meditation along with a short reading to prompt a discussion on impermanence. We’re currently reading a book by Pema Chödrön. While there is a Buddhist flavor to this event, everyone is welcome. No experience with meditation is necessary.
Death Cafe- Iowa City
What is a Death Café? An open-ended, informal community conversation about the end of life without any particular goal or agenda.
Why a Death Café? What to expect?
• Arrive at the Greenhouse, grab a tasty drink and some snacks if you’d like, then sit at a table with some other participants. Facilitators will be present to answer any questions and give a brief introduction before conversations begin. Participants practice active, engaged listening with respect for others’ views and experiences.
• Ground rules: respect, compassion, support, and confidentiality. Death Cafés are not designed to focus on bereavement and grief support, but open-ended questions and conversation.
• What happens in a Death Café stays in a Death Café.
Grief Support Group for People Under 50
6-7pm at Press Coffee
For people under 50 who've experienced a significant personal loss, join us the first Tuesday of every month for a confidential and donation-based grief support group.
Led by a facilitator trained in grief and end of life, and no RSVP required. For more information or additional questions, reach out to the Death Collective of Eastern Iowa at info@deathcollectiveeasterniowa.com.
Death Cafe- Cedar Rapids
Every third Wednesday of the month at the Illumination Studio in Cedar Rapids! Open, Honest, and Respectful conversation about all things death & dying.
Sitting with Impermanence
Join us at the Iowa City Zen Center for a short period of meditation along with a short reading to prompt a discussion on impermanence. We’re currently reading a book by Pema Chödrön. While there is a Buddhist flavor to this event, everyone is welcome. No experience with meditation is necessary.
Grief Support Group
A grief support group meeting on the 2nd and 4th Thursdays at Zion Lutheran Church (310 N Johnson St, Iowa City). The group meets from 3:30-5:00pm in Zion Lutheran’s lower level Gathering Room.
Suggested donation is $10-20 per person. Attendees can just show up or email Annie at annmb918@gmail.com for information. This group meets in-person only. This is a facilitated peer support group.
Sitting with Impermanence
Join us at the Iowa City Zen Center for a short period of meditation along with a short reading to prompt a discussion on impermanence. We’re currently reading a book by Pema Chödrön. While there is a Buddhist flavor to this event, everyone is welcome. No experience with meditation is necessary.
Writing Grief
Grief is a process, not an event. Writing is a process, not a product. Which is why it’s so well suited to helping us unravel our way through the confusion and pain of all kinds of loss.
This monthly writing group will provide supportive space, prompts, and short readings focused on the experience of loss. There are many kinds of grief — this class is inspired by Francis Weller’s Five Gates of Grief — and we’ll spend time with many of them.
The group meets the first Saturday of each month from 10:00 to 11:30 am CT. Each session includes:
arrival and centering
a reading and brief exploration of a theme
a prompt and 20-30 minutes of writing
sharing (by choice) of our writing
Each class is on a sliding scale according to ability to pay. See more info below.
WHEN: First Saturday of each month, 10:00-11:30 am Central Time
WHERE: In-person option at Porch Light Literary Center, Iowa City OR on Zoom
REGISTER: https://bit.ly/GriefWriting
Grief Support Group for People Under 50
6-7pm at Press Coffee
For people under 50 who've experienced a significant personal loss, join us the first Tuesday of every month for a confidential and donation-based grief support group.
Led by a facilitator trained in grief and end of life, and no RSVP required. For more information or additional questions, reach out to the Death Collective of Eastern Iowa at info@deathcollectiveeasterniowa.com.
Sitting with Impermanence
Join us at the Iowa City Zen Center for a short period of meditation along with a short reading to prompt a discussion on impermanence. We’re currently reading a book by Pema Chödrön. While there is a Buddhist flavor to this event, everyone is welcome. No experience with meditation is necessary.
Death Cafe- Iowa City
What is a Death Café? An open-ended, informal community conversation about the end of life without any particular goal or agenda.
Why a Death Café? What to expect?
• Arrive at the Greenhouse, grab a tasty drink and some snacks if you’d like, then sit at a table with some other participants. Facilitators will be present to answer any questions and give a brief introduction before conversations begin. Participants practice active, engaged listening with respect for others’ views and experiences.
• Ground rules: respect, compassion, support, and confidentiality. Death Cafés are not designed to focus on bereavement and grief support, but open-ended questions and conversation.
• What happens in a Death Café stays in a Death Café.
Sitting with Impermanence
Join us at the Iowa City Zen Center for a short period of meditation along with a short reading to prompt a discussion on impermanence. We’re currently reading a book by Pema Chödrön. While there is a Buddhist flavor to this event, everyone is welcome. No experience with meditation is necessary.
Liberation Now! Sitting Meditation and Cemetery Walk
Death follows us like a constant companion. Practice while there's time! Open to new and experienced meditators, we'll meet at Reno Street Park at 516 Reno Street in Iowa City on Saturday, May 23rd at 8 am for settling in and meditation instruction as needed, a mix of sitting and walking meditation (including an optional cemetery meditative walk), and a light potluck lunch at noon. You are welcome to come for any or all of the gathering.
We invite people to bring meditation cushions and/or pillows/blankets they can roll up to use for sitting, as well as food for the potluck. The most important thing though is for you to be there!
Death Cafe- Cedar Rapids
Every third Wednesday of the month at the Illumination Studio in Cedar Rapids! Open, Honest, and Respectful conversation about all things death & dying.
Sitting with Impermanence
Join us at the Iowa City Zen Center for a short period of meditation along with a short reading to prompt a discussion on impermanence. We’re currently reading a book by Pema Chödrön. While there is a Buddhist flavor to this event, everyone is welcome. No experience with meditation is necessary.
Sitting with Impermanence
Join us at the Iowa City Zen Center for a short period of meditation along with a short reading to prompt a discussion on impermanence. We’re currently reading a book by Pema Chödrön. While there is a Buddhist flavor to this event, everyone is welcome. No experience with meditation is necessary.
Mother's Day Grief Gathering
On this day we will honor both the gratitude and the grief that Mother’s Day can bring. This is a space to hold all emotions—without pressure for closure.
We honor:
Those who gave life and those who shaped it
Anyone who nurtures with love, care, and presence
Mothers of children, flora & fauna, communities, and ideas
All forms of mothering—seen and unseen, chosen and unexpected
We also make space for grief:
Relationships that didn’t meet our needs
The loss of mothers or the chance to mother
The pain carried for ourselves and for Mother Earth
This gathering offers a simple ritual to honor your experience, time for reflection, sharing, and being witnessed.
Journals will be provided. You’re invited to bring a meaningful item (photo, memento, etc.) for the altar.
Grief Support Group for People Under 50
6-7pm at Press Coffee
For people under 50 who've experienced a significant personal loss, join us the first Tuesday of every month for a confidential and donation-based grief support group.
Led by a facilitator trained in grief and end of life, and no RSVP required. For more information or additional questions, reach out to the Death Collective of Eastern Iowa at info@deathcollectiveeasterniowa.com.
Sitting with Impermanence
Join us at the Iowa City Zen Center for a short period of meditation along with a short reading to prompt a discussion on impermanence. We’re currently reading a book by Pema Chödrön. While there is a Buddhist flavor to this event, everyone is welcome. No experience with meditation is necessary.
Writing Grief
Grief is a process, not an event. Writing is a process, not a product. Which is why it’s so well suited to helping us unravel our way through the confusion and pain of all kinds of loss.
This monthly writing group will provide supportive space, prompts, and short readings focused on the experience of loss. There are many kinds of grief — this class is inspired by Francis Weller’s Five Gates of Grief — and we’ll spend time with many of them.
The group meets the first Saturday of each month from 10:00 to 11:30 am CT. Each session includes:
arrival and centering
a reading and brief exploration of a theme
a prompt and 20-30 minutes of writing
sharing (by choice) of our writing
Each class is on a sliding scale according to ability to pay. See more info below.
WHEN: First Saturday of each month, 10:00-11:30 am Central Time
WHERE: In-person option at Porch Light Literary Center, Iowa City OR on Zoom
REGISTER: https://bit.ly/GriefWriting
April Death Cafe
What is a Death Café? An open-ended, informal community conversation about the end of life without any particular goal or agenda.
Why a Death Café? What to expect?
• Arrive at the Greenhouse, grab a tasty drink and some snacks if you’d like, then sit at a table with some other participants. Facilitators will be present to answer any questions and give a brief introduction before conversations begin. Participants practice active, engaged listening with respect for others’ views and experiences.
• Ground rules: respect, compassion, support, and confidentiality. Death Cafés are not designed to focus on bereavement and grief support, but open-ended questions and conversation.
• What happens in a Death Café stays in a Death Café.
Sitting with Impermanence
Join us at the Iowa City Zen Center for a short period of meditation along with a short reading to prompt a discussion on impermanence. We’re currently reading a book by Pema Chödrön. While there is a Buddhist flavor to this event, everyone is welcome. No experience with meditation is necessary.
Grieving Your Loss
Grieving Your Loss: A professionally led support group for persons who have experienced the death of a loved one. The group meets the 2nd and 4th Wednesdays of each month. No pre-registration is required and open to all community members.
Sitting with Impermanence
Join us at the Iowa City Zen Center for a short period of meditation along with a short reading to prompt a discussion on impermanence. We’re currently reading a book by Pema Chödrön. While there is a Buddhist flavor to this event, everyone is welcome. No experience with meditation is necessary.
Hospicing Modernity: Book Discussion Group
Hospicing Modernity: Facing Humanity’s Wrongs and the Implications for Social Activism
Invitation to a Discussion Group
Winter traditionally is a time for slowing down, for contemplation. This is more timely than ever. Join the Death Collective of Eastern Iowa as we slow down to reflect upon our times through a group reading of Hospicing Modernity by Vanessa Machado de Oliveira. We’re usually sitting with the deaths of loved ones, and contemplating our own mortality, but what about that of modernity? What happens when the stories we grew up with about who we are, and were, aren’t so rock solid anymore? How do we sit with the passing of old stories and live into the generation of new ones?
This is a give-as-led gathering to support snacks to fuel our discussions and to support the Death Collective (mainly our annual website maintenance costs). With or without donating though, everyone is welcome! If you are led to give, do so here. Here are the giving tiers:
$0 - We want you to come! $10 - Thank you! $20 - I wonder what fancy snacks we can get? $30 - Our website maintenance fees won't worry us so much. $40 or more - Death will not touch you
Death Cafe- Cedar Rapids
Every third Wednesday of the month at the Illumination Studio in Cedar Rapids! Open, Honest, and Respectful conversation about all things death & dying.
Sitting with Impermanence
Join us at the Iowa City Zen Center for a short period of meditation along with a short reading to prompt a discussion on impermanence. We’re currently reading a book by Pema Chödrön. While there is a Buddhist flavor to this event, everyone is welcome. No experience with meditation is necessary.
Grieving Your Loss
Grieving Your Loss: A professionally led support group for persons who have experienced the death of a loved one. The group meets the 2nd and 4th Wednesdays of each month. No pre-registration is required and open to all community members.
April Grief Support Group for People Under 50
Tuesday, March 3rd, 2026 from 6-7pm at Press Coffee
For people under 50 who've experienced a significant personal loss, join us the first Tuesday of every month for a confidential and donation-based grief support group.
Led by a facilitator trained in grief and end of life, and no RSVP required. For more information or additional questions, reach out to the Death Collective of Eastern Iowa at info@deathcollectiveeasterniowa.com.
Sitting with Impermanence
Join us at the Iowa City Zen Center for a short period of meditation along with a short reading to prompt a discussion on impermanence. We’re currently reading a book by Pema Chödrön. While there is a Buddhist flavor to this event, everyone is welcome. No experience with meditation is necessary.
Writing Grief
Grief is a process, not an event. Writing is a process, not a product. Which is why it’s so well suited to helping us unravel our way through the confusion and pain of all kinds of loss.
This monthly writing group will provide supportive space, prompts, and short readings focused on the experience of loss. There are many kinds of grief — this class is inspired by Francis Weller’s Five Gates of Grief — and we’ll spend time with many of them.
The group meets the first Saturday of each month from 10:00 to 11:30 am CT. Each session includes:
arrival and centering
a reading and brief exploration of a theme
a prompt and 20-30 minutes of writing
sharing (by choice) of our writing
Each class is on a sliding scale according to ability to pay. See more info below.
WHEN: First Saturday of each month, 10:00-11:30 am Central Time
WHERE: In-person option at Porch Light Literary Center, Iowa City OR on Zoom
REGISTER: https://bit.ly/GriefWriting
Hospicing Modernity: Book Discussion Group
Hospicing Modernity: Facing Humanity’s Wrongs and the Implications for Social Activism
Invitation to a Discussion Group
Winter traditionally is a time for slowing down, for contemplation. This is more timely than ever. Join the Death Collective of Eastern Iowa as we slow down to reflect upon our times through a group reading of Hospicing Modernity by Vanessa Machado de Oliveira. We’re usually sitting with the deaths of loved ones, and contemplating our own mortality, but what about that of modernity? What happens when the stories we grew up with about who we are, and were, aren’t so rock solid anymore? How do we sit with the passing of old stories and live into the generation of new ones?
For this session we’ll be reading up to page 61 (through the end of Part 1). We’ll be meeting at the Green House.
This is a give-as-led gathering to support snacks to fuel our discussions and to support the Death Collective (mainly our annual website maintenance costs). With or without donating though, everyone is welcome! If you are led to give, do so here. Here are the giving tiers:
$0 - We want you to come! $10 - Thank you! $20 - I wonder what fancy snacks we can get? $30 - Our website maintenance fees won't worry us so much. $40 or more - Death will not touch you
March Death Cafe
What is a Death Café? An open-ended, informal community conversation about the end of life without any particular goal or agenda.
Why a Death Café? What to expect?
• Arrive at the Greenhouse, grab a tasty drink and some snacks if you’d like, then sit at a table with some other participants. Facilitators will be present to answer any questions and give a brief introduction before conversations begin. Participants practice active, engaged listening with respect for others’ views and experiences.
• Ground rules: respect, compassion, support, and confidentiality. Death Cafés are not designed to focus on bereavement and grief support, but open-ended questions and conversation.
• What happens in a Death Café stays in a Death Café.