Columbarium

Columbarium & Memorial Center

It is comforting to know the cremated remains and names of our loved ones will be placed inside the Columbarium & Memorial Center, which is consecrated to the worship and service of God.

A Pastoral Word:

Decisions about the final resting place of our earthly remains are deeply personal. This human body is the house in which we experience God’s gift of life. It is the home in which our loved one lived while with us here on earth.

Cremation is an honorable and acceptable decision for the Christian. Cremation accelerates the natural decomposition of our human body “earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust”.

Many believe cremation is a decision which represents responsible stewardship, both of one’s financial resources, and also of our available land resources – gifts from God’s grace.

In our increasingly mobile society, many families are no longer connected to a geographical place. The Church still provides the sense of the transcendent which does not come from “the old home place.” Thus, inurnment in a church columbarium can provide a needed anchor for a family’s mourning and healing.

Cremation does not necessarily preclude the viewing of one’s remains, by family and/or friends, although this may lengthen the time between one’s death and one’s funeral service.

As Christians, we gather each week to bear bold and living witness to the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The earthly remains of our saints honored in this way will become part of our bold and living witness to this resurrection faith.

St. Paul writes: “But our citizenship is in heaven, and it is from there that we are expecting a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. He will transform the body of humiliation that it may be conformed to the body of His glory, by the power that enables him to make all things subject to Himself.” (Phil. 3:20-21)

Please feel free to contact me if I can be helpful as you seek to make these important decisions.

The Peace of Christ!

Pastor Robert I. Miles, Jr.

Columbarium & Memorial Center:

The proposed Columbarium & Memorial Center will have major areas. The Columbarium area will contain Niches for the cremated remains of the deceased. The Memorial Wall area will display the names of Church members, which we wish to remember and honor. The location for both of these areas will be in the courtyard of St. Michael Lutheran Church, accessible from the Gathering Area, the Fellowship Hall and the Education building. Both the Columbarium and the Memorial Wall area will accept immediate family members as outlined in the Eligibility section below.

Click this LINK to site plans for the Columbarium area located in the Courtyard.

Eligibility:

The Columbarium Niches and Memorial Walls are restricted to members of St. Michael Lutheran Church and immediate family members. Immediate family members include a member’s spouse, parents, brothers and sisters, children, and grandchildren. Trustees of the Columbarium facility reserve the right to make exceptions to these restrictions, as they deem appropriate.

Price of a Niche or Memorial Wall name:

The purchase price of a Niche or Memorial Wall name shall remain uniform regardless of its location. The selection of a Niche or Niches will be made from the wall sections available at that time. Additional wall sections of Niches will be made available as the existing sections are filled. A name for the Memorial Wall will be located in the next available space as purchased. The price of a Niche for the cremated ashes of one person is $1,500. The price of placing a name on the Memorial Wall is $300.

Spiritual Advantage of Cremation

It is comforting to know the cremated remains and names of our loved ones will be placed inside in the Columbarium & Memorial Center, which is consecrated to the worship and service of God.

Burial within the Church Center allows all members of the Christian community to gather in loving remembrance and to strengthen the bond between the living and the dead.

Even in death, the burial of members of the church is witness to their faith and recognition of their belief in community of saints, living or dead.

As Christians, we regard burning as the proper, reverent way of disposing of objects which have been blessed for religious use such as prayer books, altar linens, etc. After the same manner, then, it would also be appropriate to cremate the human body and to inurn the remains in a receptacle housed in the Church Columbarium.

If the Christian congregation is the center of life through baptism, confirmation, Holy Communion and marriage, then death and burial are also an integral part.

History:

In 2001 and 2002 a few people expressed an interest in a Columbarium to Pastor Robert. In June of 2003, a Columbarium Committee was formed to explore the possibility of a Columbarium for St. Michael. The Committee made several road trips to view Columbariums at other Churches. In 2004 the Congregational Council organized a Long Range Planning Committee to help prioritize the needs of St. Michael.

In December 2006, a proposal was made to, and approved by, Church Council to re-activate the Columbarium Committee for the purpose of designing, funding and constructing a Columbarium.

The Columbarium would be self-supporting through gift donations and the sale of Niches and Memorial Wall engravings. There would be no cost to St. Michael.

St. Michael has received designated gifts of approximately $12,500 for this purpose. A number of St. Michael’s members have cremated remains of loved ones waiting for inurnment in this facility.

Once revenue from donations and the sale of Niches and Memorial Wall engravings reaches the estimated cost of construction, or when we reach twenty-four months of promotion of the Columbarium, we will begin construction, or re-design the plan based on funds received.

The Committee:

Howard Leonard, Chairman

Tonjia Groblewski, Secretary

Bub McConnell, Treasurer

Steve Baker

Grethe Bunes

Debbie Hammersla

Faye Moss

(Note: the original plan has been redesigned to fit the funds available.)