February 4, 2024
A Funeral For the Future with Friends and Family
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"Funeral for the Future would combine the practice of a mourning ceremony, art-based activism, and powerful symbology to provide a space to grieve future losses that result from the changing climate as well as the opportunity to begin building a network of support."
~ "Funeral For the Future: A Proposal for a Climate Change Mourning Ritual in the Greater Seattle Area" by Rileigh Thompson
I came up with the idea for a Funeral for the Future with the help of some classmates in Spring 2023. Being trapped in what seemed like constant grief and fear for my future, a mourning ritual that allows space to process this kind of anticipatory grief seemed like something that was lacking in our current social system and that could offer a lot of benefit to other young people who are facing unknown futures in the face of planetary warming.
After contemplating on the idea for a while, I was able to come up with a concrete practice that could be done at scales both small and large (see my Original Proposal below to learn about this ceremony). And, on February 4, 2024 I was fortunate enough to gather a community of friends and family together and hold my very own Funeral for the Future. It was an intimate gathering of no more than 23 people, which made the event that much more special. The amount of vulnerability and genuine participation in an event that was out of the realm of familiarity for most attendees was humbling to witness. The strength, courage, receptivity, commitment, and support that each and every one of the people who participated displayed was beyond what I could have ever imagined. It was also incredibly encouraging in regard to my desire to put on more Funerals for the Future for a wider demographic. I am so excited to offer this tool to others who are mourning the losses we are facing due to climate change and can only hope it will be as powerful for others as it was for all of us on February 4th!
Below are artifacts that document the process of the Funeral for the Future I held on February 4, 2024.
Stage 1: Proposing & Planning
Original Proposal
Original Proposal
The original idea for a Funeral for the Future was born in Spring Quarter of 2023 in Dr. Jennifer Atkinson's Climate Anxiety, Grief, and Resilience class at UW Bothell. During one class session, we as students were tasked with creating some kind of ritual of mourning related to climate change and the losses we are experiencing due to it. When I reflected on what I was mourning most as a young person facing this beast we call climate change, I realized that I feared most for my future. More specifically, the loss of opportunities and stability in my future and the future of generations to come. When I presented the idea of mourning the future with the group I was paired with, they all fully got behind the idea - sharing the same fear and grief - and we worked together to lay out the details.
While this was a short in-class exercise, I couldn't let go of the idea afterward. After learning about the benefits other climate change-related mourning rituals have offered to those who have taken part in them, the concept of actually doing this ritual became an exciting sentiment. This led to me focusing my final project in Dr. Atkinson's class: a proposal on presenting the Funeral For the Future to the public in collaboration with climate organizations.
This idea also was the reason I had the opportunity to co-author a book chapter with Dr. Atkinson and Kyleen Romero. See here to learn more.
Event Planning
Event Planning
After submitting my proposal in Dr. Atkinson's class, it took my nearly a year to organize a Funeral For the Future with my friends and family. These are the products of that planning process that show the behind the scenes work of making the event happen.
Funeral For The Future ItineraryItinerary for the Event
Stage 2: The Event
February 4th
February 4th
was an overcast, yet dry winter day. We were fortunate to not be rained on during our ceremony and instead have the chirping of birds as ambience in my Mother's small but beautiful backyard. We began the event inside with food that my family and I put together and an opportunity to carve the inside of the time casket lid with one's initials. This was followed by a brainstorming session of communal and individual commitments, goals and hopes that attendees have related to climate change. This session was intended to replace my original idea of having climate organizations draw up a timeline of goals we should meet as a society that would inform if individuals would be re-united with their objects (see my original proposal for more information about this). Finally, we ended with the ceremony itself. Each person was given time to present their object(s) they brought with them, say a few words about what it represented or about climate change in general (if they so chose), and place it in the time casket.
Photos of the event taken by Alex Moseley
Stage 3: After the Event
Feedback
Feedback
Part of my mentality for this event would be that it would act somewhat like a "pilot" or "test" and would offer me insight into the feasibility of it on a larger scale. While I had my own experience during the event and felt as though it had great potential for offering it to a broader audience base, I wanted to hear from those who participated. The purpose of the Funeral for the Future is to offer the same benefits that communal mourning does in other aspects of our lives, such during the loss a loved one. To ensure that it is living up to that purpose, I created a Google Form where individuals could anonymously provide me feedback on the event.
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