MEMORIAL GARDEN - Then and Now Then The traditional church graveyard had, for centuries, served as the ideal place of burial for its congregation members. Members were born into the church and spent their lives involved in the church community. After death, members remained a part of that community by interment (ground burial) within the graveyard. The 20th century had witnessed an alarming trend within our country. The rate at which members were choosing interment in secular cemeteries was growing tremendously. This shift was caused primarily by the lack of space in existing church cemeteries (many of them being landlocked with no room for expansion) and the rising costs of land (if available) adjacent to the church, making growth very difficult and forcing members to go the way of secular burial. Unfortunately, that trend had created some distance within the church community. Loved ones would now need to travel to the secular cemetery to meditate and pay respects to loved ones who have died. Although interment within the church graveyard declined, the desire to return to the church burial tradition remained. With the concerns of skyrocketing funeral costs (now being one of the top 3 expenditures in one's life, averaging $8,000-$11,000) and the lack of available space within the church graveyard, the church struggled for a viable option to satisfy the need for members to remain within its community. In conjunction with this, cremation was becoming widely accepted (and is now a growing trend). Members not only were choosing secular burial, but also were moving toward cremation as an option to offset these secular costs. This was yet another need of the members that the church had to address. The idea of a columbarium within a church memorial garden was the answer! Now Today, the traditional church graveyard is no longer practical, but there is an alternative that more and more churches are adopting. The memorial garden option answers the needs of many of its members: Inurnment within a columbarium allows members to remain within the church community and it is a fraction of the cost of secular burial. We are born into the church, our lives are spent involved in the church community and now, in death, we can be welcomed back. The memorial garden offers departed members a true homecoming. This new ministry will allow the church to provide Christian care and service and gives the church the distinctive opportunity to serve its congregation. Churches have historically been a place for the rest of remains. With a memorial garden, once again the lives of those who have died can be remembered and celebrated on sacred ground. The concept of the church Memorial Garden is simple in function, yet powerful in both mission and ministry. |
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