As humans, there’s one thing we all have in common: we will all die someday.

This is a shared certainty … so why are we so afraid to talk about it?

On January 15th, 2026, we’re bringing the subject of death and dying to the foreground and having a bold conversation focusing on what scares us the most about death and dying.

Take a brave step in 2026 and join us for this important conversation. We want you to bring your fears around death and dying so we can talk about it.

We will meet in person at Welcome Home of Chattanooga and on Zoom.

To prepare for this event, please send something that scares you about death and dying to michelle@welcomehomeofchattanooga.org

Are you or do you know someone who is facing the holidays after going thru a loss? Please join us as we share ways to make it through the holidays and how to help others. This will be a hybrid event, you can join us in person or by zoom. We ask participants to bring a candle and if possible, a photo of a loved one who will be honored in a candlelight ceremony to end this session.

All Saints Day is November 1rst and All Souls Day is observed on November 2nd. Join us Sunday, November 2, as we honor all souls of Welcome Home and in our community. This is a day where we will meet each other and remember the beautiful people who are no longer with us. Drop by anytime between 4:30-6:30pm, you are welcome to come and light a candle, lay flowers, create something to remember them by and enjoy refreshments in the company of others. We will have a special ceremony at 5:30pm.

It is important to keep a mind’s eye to a cultural perspective, that we all may have the same needs at the end of life- death, dying and grief look different through all cultures. In this session, Rose helps us explore culture and diversity. Rose Gordon of Circles of Compassionate Care will lead us in exploring curiosity, interest and appreciation and how they affect the professional/personal relationship. Participants will learn to identify the difference between fixing, helping and serving and how each attitude impacts the autonomy and dignity of those they serve. We will also discuss the four ways of doing no harm in interactions with others.

Approved for 1.5 NASW CEUs
$10 Suggested Donation for session

Rose Gordon has been the Spiritual Counselor and Bereavement Care provider for Mountain Home Health Hospice since 2012 and is a presenter for Welcome Home’s Demystifying Death program as well as offering private end of life support services. She was the Director and a faculty member of the Being With the Dying Project at Upaya Zen Center from 1997-2002. She leads retreats on Dreamwork, has trained people in end of life care in New Mexico, Colorado, New Year and Dubai and volunteered at a hospice in Rishikesh, India.

She is a frequent speaker at Unity Taos. Her essay, Grief and the Depth of Your Love, was published in the Fall 2019 issue of Minding Nature magazine. Silver Talkies, a digital magazine in India, published her article, Caregiver: Finding Lost Time Together, in October 2022.

Are you interested in learning more about our mission and ways to get involved?

This is a good time to tour Welcome Home, hear more about our mission and ways you can help.

There are many ways to help, including:

🗓️ Weekend Team

🍽️ Dinner Club

🚘 Go Go Club

🌷 Garden Club

💵 Fundraising

💛 Companion Program for our residents

For those who want to be Companions, we provide special end of life care training at your convenience.

Please contact Sherry at sherry@welcomehomeofchattanooga.org or call (423) 355-5842 to register or for questions.

We begin the tour at 6pm, then spend time talking about ways to get involved and answer questions you might have. Drinks and light snacks are provided.

If this time does not work for you, please call us and we can schedule a time that works for you!

Join us for our second Welcome Homecoming Dance at Barrelhouse Ballroom with Rubrik’s Groove! All of the fun without the high school angst, come in your best homecoming clothes from the 80s, 90s or 00s!

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Let’s have dinner and talk about death! Death Over Dinner events happen all over the world. This evening at beautiful Crabtree Farms, a lovely dinner will be provided and an opportunity to talk about this topic that society has made taboo, but we aren’t scared. A host will be at each table to guide the discussion. Food and fellowship guaranteed to be excellent. For questions, please call (423)486-4001 or email info@welcomehomeofchattanooga.org.

CRABTREE FARMS

DEATH OVER DINNER

Keeping vigil with one who is in their final days can be holy and sacred ground. In this very special session, we share about the practice of keeping vigil and the benefits of being present. Nina Guertin, trained End-of-Life/Death Doula, has over 25 years of experience. Michelle Goble, trained End-of-Life/Death Doula, has over 8 years of experience. They will be leading our session and speak about creating vigils and rituals for before and after death that include the healing arts.

Join us in person at Welcome Home or by zoom

WE INVITE YOU TO JOIN US SUNDAY, JUNE 22 AS WE CELEBRATE TEN YEARS
OF SERVING OUR COMMUNITY.  WE COULD NOT DO THIS WITHOUT YOU.  

Please feel free to share and bring friends.
We will be debuting our new WTCI Short Documentary
Live music with Shani Palmer and her Band
Our favorite petting zoo
Refreshments and a good ol’ time in fellowship!

ALL ARE WELCOME!
THIS IS A FAMILY FRIENDLY EVENT AND YOU CAN STOP BY ANYTIME

Did you know that you can have a home funeral in the state of Tennessee? There are also many alternatives to traditional norms for final arrangements. Attend this very interesting session to discover all of the options available including green burial, aqua cremation, composting and body donation.

Please join us by zoom or in person at Welcome Home.

April is National Healthcare Decisions Month!

Have you thought about your healthcare wishes? Do you have them in writing? Tonight we will watch together the short documentary, Extremis , and have a discussion about the Five Wishes. Attendees will receive a copy of Five Wishes to complete for themselves and support as needed in completing them. This is an important session if you haven’t put your wishes in writing, or would like to learn more, come join us!

A $10 suggested donation for this session will help us with our mission

Approved for 1.5 NASW CEUs

This class will be a hybrid session, you can attend in person or by zoom. For those attending by zoom, please contact us to make arrangements to pick up your copy of the Five Wishes.

Join us for this very special evening with contemporary poet, Sara Rian, at the beautiful Historic. This evening will honor love and grief, and will be the beginning of celebrating ten years of Welcome Home’s mission. We are honored to partner with Rhyme N Chatt, a non-profit organization and poetic family based in Chattanooga, TN providing a safe place where poetry is shared and discussed and the poet is valued.

Sara Rian is a poet, self-published author, mother, wife, licensed therapist, and griever living in Metro Detroit. She has been drawn to grief poetry ever since her mother's death in 2018. Her mother embraced the power of words through her own love notes and poems and had always wanted to publish a book. As a mental health professional, suicide loss survivor, and grieving human, Sara shares her work with others to let them know that they are not alone in their big love or big grief. This has also been a way for her to help make her mother’s wish come true as she is the inspiration behind every poem and book.

Come join us for great conversation and cake!

At a Death Cafe people, often strangers, gather to eat cake, drink tea and discuss death.
The objective is 'to increase awareness of death with a view to helping people make the most of their (finite) lives'. A Death Cafe is a group directed discussion of death with no agenda, objectives or themes. It is a discussion group rather than a grief support or counseling session.

ALL ARE WELCOME!

Why is thinking about death helpful for us? According to research, an awareness of mortality can improve physical health and help you re-prioritize your goals and values. Join us for our first session of the year for a discussion about why it is helpful to give some thought to death. The advance directive document, Five Wishes, will be available for you to take home. This will be a hybrid session, you can join us by zoom or in person at 3131 Quiet Creek Trail, Chattanooga 37406.

Are you or do you know someone who is facing the holidays after going thru a loss? Please join us vas we share ways to make it through the holidays and how to help others. This will be a hybrid event, you can join us in person or by zoom. We ask participants to bring a candle and if possible, a photo of a loved one who will be honored in a candlelight ceremony to end this session. Email Michelle Goble , michelle@welcomehomeofchattanooga.org for questions or to RSVP.

This is a drop in event with a service starting at 5:30pm.

We will be honoring and remembering those who have died in this special ceremony by having a simple service with a candle lighting, reading of names, art making and sharing memories as you wish.. 

EARLY BIRD REGISTRATION BEFORE OCTOBER 20TH

We are very excited to announce that our Keynote Speaker this year will be Kim Bateman, Ph.D. Kim Bateman, Ph.D. is the author of Crossing the Owl’s Bridge: A Guide for Grieving People Who Still Love (Chiron, 2016) which uses the wisdom of worldwide folk tales and case stories to demonstrate how to share, ritualize and transform grief. She is a Clinical Psychologist, Storyteller, Death Educator, and End-of-Life Doula who happens to make fabulous smoked salmon. She also facilitates memorial textile art workshops and writes a Death Dialogues blog. Dr. Bateman presented a TEDx talk called “Singing Over Bones” on bereavement and serves as the Executive Dean and a Psychology Professor at Sierra College in Tahoe-Truckee, California, USA. Visit her website: kim-bateman.com for more information. 

Watch her TEDx Talk, Singing Over Bones

Keeping vigil with one who is in their final days can be holy and sacred ground. In this very special session, we share about the practice of keeping vigil and the benefits of being present. Nina Guertin, trained End-of-Life/Death Doula, has over 25 years of experience. She will be leading our session and speak about creating vigils and rituals for before and after death that include the healing arts.

Join us in person at Welcome Home or by zoom

Nina Guertin is a trained End-of-Life / Death Doula with Tending the Spirit, is a trained and certified Interfaith Spiritual Director, a certified Grief Support Specialist, an End-of-Life-Doula Mentor, a Ritualist / Celebrant, Aromatherapist, and an Angel Artist / Ceramicist.

Nina also serves as a Chaplain and Spiritual Support Team Member with Sholom-Johnson Hospice.

As a Death Educator, she enjoys teaching a six-part series on preparing for death, and is available to speak to on the following topics:  What’s a Doula Do?,  Vigil Planning, Ritual Work at End of Life, Sacred Oils, The Four Elements, Meaning and Legacy, The Dance of Bereavement, Art and Processing Grief, Art and Legacy, Stillbirth and Grief, What Is Death Education?

Nina has more than twenty-five years’ experience in clay work and and facilitates Healing HeART Experiences with clay in her studio in NE Minneapolis.

Let’s have dinner and talk about death! This evening at beautiful Crabtree Farms, a lovely dinner will be provided and an opportunity to talk about this topic that society has made taboo, but we aren’t scared. A host will be at each table to guide the discussion. Food and fellowship guaranteed to be excellent. For questions, please call (423)486-4001 or email info@welcomehomeofchattanooga.org.

CRABTREE FARMS

REGISTER BEFORE AUGUST 7 FOR EARLY BIRD.

LEARN MORE ABOUT DEATH OVER DINNER EVENTS

We are honored to announce that Welcome Home, along with our friends at The Serenity House, have been chosen to screen the incredible documentary, “The Last Ecstatic Days”. Ethan Sisser, a young man with terminal brain cancer, sits alone in his hospital room. When he starts livestreaming his death journey on social media, thousands of people around the world join to celebrate his courage. Still, Ethan envisions more – to teach the world how to die without fear. To do that, he needs to film his death. Honoring Ethan's wish, his doctor Aditi Sethi transports him to an idyllic house in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Asheville, North Carolina. What unfolds next is a story rarely glimpsed: how a community of strangers helps a young man die with grace. A sensory immersion into leaving the body, “The Last Ecstatic Days” reveals a man who will not let us forget him – even after he’s taken his final breath.

Join us at the Jewish Cultural Center or online via zoom to watch this beautiful documentary together. A question and answer session will be led by Sherry Campbell and Judith Pedersen-Benn afterwards, as well as a time to connect with one another. Please consider a small donation towards Welcome Home for admission.

Have you thought about your healthcare wishes? Do you have them in writing? Tonight we will watch together the short documentary, Extremis , and have a discussion about the Five Wishes. Attendees will receive a copy of Five Wishes to complete for themselves and support as needed in completing them. This is an important session if you haven’t put your wishes in writing, come join us!

A $10 suggested donation for this session will help us with our mission!

Approved for 1.5 NASW CEUs

This class will be a hybrid session, you can attend in person or by zoom. For those attending by zoom, please contact us to make arrangements to pick up your copy of the Five Wishes.

It is important to keep a mind’s eye to a cultural perspective, that we all may have the same needs at the end of life- death, dying and grief look different through all cultures. In this session, Rose helps us explore culture and diversity. Rose Gordon of Circle of Compassionate Care will lead us in exploring curiosity, interest and appreciation and how they affect the professional/personal relationship. Participants will learn to identify the difference between fixing, helping and serving and how each attitude impacts the autonomy and dignity of those they serve. We will also discuss the four ways of doing no harm in interactions with others.

Approved for 1.5 NASW CEUs
$10 Suggested Donation for session

Please note this is a hybrid class.

Rose Gordon has been the Spiritual Counselor and Bereavement Care provider for Mountain Home Health Hospice since 2012 and is a presenter for Welcome Home’s Demystifying Death program as well as offering private end of life support services. She was the Director and a faculty member of the Being With the Dying Project at Upaya Zen Center from 1997-2002. She leads retreats on Dreamwork, has trained people in end of life care in New Mexico, Colorado, New Year and Dubai and volunteered at a hospice in Rishikesh, India.

She is a frequent speaker at Unity Taos. Her essay, Grief and the Depth of Your Love, was published in the Fall 2019 issue of Minding Nature magazine. Silver Talkies, a digital magazine in India, published her article, Caregiver: Finding Lost Time Together, in October 2022.

Did you know that you can have a home funeral in the state of Tennessee? There are also many alternatives to traditional norms for final arrangements. Attend this very interesting session to discover all of the options available including green burial, aqua cremation, composting and body donation.

This will be a hybrid class,

Kim Adams, CPC
Guest Speaker

Kim’s work with death and dying started in the early 1990’s when she worked at a community health center for people with HIV/AIDS. At that time, people were dying of the disease and Kim moved in closer rather than shy away from death. Since 2010, she has been a certified, professional End-of-Life Coach/Guide, and an educator on death/dying, home funerals, and green burials. Kim is a home funeral guide and currently serves on the Advisory Board for the Threshold Support Circle in Baltimore, MD empowering families to care for their own after-death. She served as the President of the Board of Directors for The Lily House, a community home for living and dying on Cape Cod, MA. Kim is a Board member for the Omega Home Network, non-profit national organization that promotes the development of community homes for dying people. She has served on the Board of Directors for the National Home Funeral Alliance (NHFA) and the National End-of-Life Doula Alliance (NEDA).

In order to make reasoned decisions, patients and their families need to be familiar with concepts and terminology related to end of life concerns. This excellent presentation by Dr. Bob Zylstra will use case examples as teaching tools to explore the moral, legal, ethical and religious implications related to end of life issues with the goal of appreciating (if not necessarily agreeing with) varied beliefs and viewpoints.

Approved for NASW 1.5 CEUs

Suggested donation of $10 for session helps support our mission

This session will be hybrid, you may join us in person or by zoom.

Dr. Bob Zylstra, Ed.D, LCSW, affectionally known as “Dr. Z.” is recently retired as the Professor and Director of Behavioral Medicine at the UT College of Medicine Campus in Chattanooga and Adjunct Instructor for the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Bachelor of Social work program. He obtained much of his practical experience with medical ethics by serving on the medical ethics committees of Erlanger and Siskin Hospital. In addition to his involvement with family medicine he has worked as a home health social worker and supervisor of a community hospital’s social work department.

Join us for interesting discussion and cake! This year we will be meeting at the wonderful coffee and tea shop, Becaffinated! All are welcome.

Contact Sherry at (423)355-5842 or sherry@welcomehomeofchattanooga.org if you have any questions or if you would like to partner with us as a sponsor or guest speaker.

“The impact of one organ and tissue donor is extraordinary. One organ donor can save as many as eight lives through the gifts of their lungs, liver, heart, kidneys, pancreas, and intestines. One tissue donor can improve the lives of 75 or more people”. Tennessee Donor Services
April is Organ Donation Month so we are pleased to kick off this special month early with a very informative session on organ donation with Tennessee Donor Services. Twenty people die every day waiting for a life saving transplant. It’s important that we talk about this. Dawn Benjamin with Tennessee Donor Services will guide us in a discussion on organ donation and answer any questions you may have. Dawn will be covering the facts about organ and issue donation; the need for transplants; and how to register one’s decision to pass on the gift of life.

This session will be hybrid, you may join us in person or by Zoom.

Dawn Benjamin works with Tennessee Donor Services/Donate Life Tennessee as the External Affairs Coordinator. Based in the Chattanooga office, she joined TDS in 2006. Her primary job is that of advancing the message of organ and tissue donation through developing relationships with key stakeholders, advancing partnerships with community members, organizations and businesses and maximizing opportunities with traditional and social media. Dawn works in 20 surrounding counties handling the public relations, marketing, and educational outreach.

Talking about serious illness or injury can be hard. Welcome Home is making it easier by bringing the Hello game to our community. Hello helps people think about quality of life and what would matter most should a life-threatening medical event occur. Players can receive up to $90 in gift cards for participating in research associated with the game, and plenty of free refreshments will be available.

For this special event, we will be meeting at Rise Creative Community Hub.

 Want to play?  All are welcome, but space is limited! Please join us. Contact RSVP to reserve your seat!

This research study has been approved by the Institutional Review Board, under federal regulations at Penn State Medical Center, IRB Protocol No. 14689, PI: Lauren J. Van Scoy, MD

All Saints Day is November 1rst and All Souls Day is observed on November 2nd. Join us Thursday, November 2, as we honor all souls of Welcome Home and in our community. This is a day where we will meet each other and remember the beautiful people who are no longer with us. Drop by anytime between 4-7pm, you are welcome to come and light a candle, lay flowers, create something to remember them by and enjoy refreshments in the company of others.