Over My Dead Body: Green Burial Today

12+
With Sue Lyon

Green burials involve a natural return to the earth—biodegradable caskets or shrouds are used, bodies are buried three feet down, there is no embalming, and natural decomposition nourishes the earth and can support natural habitats. In most areas, green burial is also the least expensive option, contrasting with the profit-hungry corporate cemetery “services” that often exploit ordinary people at a particularly vulnerable moment in their lives. Green burial resonates strongly with biblical Christian teaching. That we came from dust and to dust we return (Gn 3:19) and that our central human task on this planet is to care for the earth and for each other. Come to learn more about the principles of a green burial, how it contributes to our care of the earth and how we can take back control of the natural process of death.

About the Facilitator

Sue is a studio potter in Kingston and an elder at Next church. She has been the convenor for Green Burial Kingston since its inception in 2018. GBK is an advocacy group for green or natural burial. She believes that 2025 will be a milestone year as the City of Kingston will open more than 100 green burial sites.

David Lyon is Sue’s partner, an author and a retired professor who supports Sue in the green burial work. David has written some op eds and articles about green burial.