speakers

Antonia Rolls

Antonia paints people facing the end of their lives. The idea is to see someone who is dying exactly as they are, changing nothing: the skin colours, the lack of muscle tone, the fragility, the power of life still in the eyes. "When I paint someone, I cut to the chase, dispense with the give and take of a normal social interaction, and ask, "Who are you? What are you saying? How do you approach your death? What is happening?" And people want to tell us the answers. They want to be listened to and most of all, they want to be seen. She uses painting, words and film to help tell their story at the most important part of their lives, at the end.

Felicity Warner

Felicity is founder of the Soul Midwives’ movement and the Soul Midwives’ School.

She explains: ‘My aim is to have a Soul Midwife in every hospital, care home and hospice within the next five years in the UK.’ Soul midwives use a sophisticated knowledge of the dying process to ease the passage and bring relief from fear and suffering. Felicity is a passionate campaigner for raising standards of care at the end of life.

Her special interests are the psycho-spiritual and soul dynamics at the end of life, researching traditional folk lore and sacred ritual in the care of the dying and also introducing ways of caring for the dying with love and compassion

Lizzie Hornby

Elizabeth Hornby is the musician for A Graceful Death, she composes
solo piano pieces that are 'evocative, beautiful and unsentimental'.
Most recently Elizabeth released her second album,''Butterfly Island'
and toured California and British Columbia in Summer 2013.
Elizabeth teaches a module, ''Ritual and Celebrancy at the end of
life'' at the Soul Midwife School and organises events, takes services
and leads workshops at the Unitarian chapel in the garden, Bridport.

'I love it when the things closest to my heart converge and this is
what has happened with AGD. I am looking forward to playing an
intimate concert on the 1st November as well experiencing this very
special event in one of my very favourite places. It will be sacred
yet down to earth gathering of art, music and people. A moment to look
and life and death within a loving environment, without fear and with
plenty of cake and tea'

Mandy Preece

Mandy Preece is a soul midwife and tutor at the Soul Midwives’ School. Soul midwives are holistic end-of-life companions who work closely with people at the end of life to help them achieve a graceful death. Mandy was inspired to work with the dying after caring for her mother (who had pancreatic and stomach cancer) at home and afterwards working closely with a friend who had aggressive breast cancer. Mandy trained with Felicity Warner and began volunteering at her local hospice. Mandy now works as an independent soul midwife and tutor training other soul midwives. She continues to volunteer twice a week at Macmillan in Christchurch Hospital. Mandy has also trained as a Laughter Yoga leader. Mandy believes that through using laughter yoga exercises we can find not only joy but release tension and improve our health

Sarah Weller

Sounding for the Soul was developed by Sarah Weller to provide support at the end of life, following ancient traditions of sounding for the transition. Despite the powerful sonic signatures if the funds, they producesonic signatures of the gongs, they produce warm ripples of harmonics that soothe and create a calm and meditative state. The Himalayan and crystal bowls chime their resonant tones and clear stuck energy, producing a mix of clear, poor notes and humming harmonics

The effect is of an intimate, loving embrace that envelops those for whom they play.

Do you want any thing around how it is done, hospitals, at home etc Orr can be created as a personalised recording to be used for meditation

Antonia Rolls​

Felicity Warner

Lizzie Hornby

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Mandy Preece

Sarah Weller

Antonia Rolls