| Columbarium and Memorial Garden |
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MARCH/APRIL 2010
COLUMBARIUM & MEMORIAL GARDEN MINISTRY Alert - New Location and church loan approved!!There is exciting news about Christ’s Church’s Columbarium & Memorial Garden project. At the annual congregational meeting the new chapel location was approved by the congregation. Also, at the meeting a loan to the Columbarium & Memorial Garden project for up to $25,000 was approved as part of the Carlson parsonage sale distribution. The loan will be repaid over a five year period and will include 4% interest. This interest is more advantageous to the congregation than commercial bank rates. Funds to repay the loan will come from niche and garden sales. Sales of just three niches will cover the annual repayment.
FEBRUARY 2010COLUMBARIUM & MEMORIAL GARDEN MINISTRY Alert - New Location!!There is exciting news about Christ Lutheran Church’s forthcoming Columbarium & Memorial Garden project. A new location has been designated for the niches and garden on the side of the chapel. Columbarium 1. Located on the chapel wall between the stained glass window and the double doors (see picture below). 2. There will be 128 niches consisting of two sections of 64 niches (8 rows of 8). A foundation and enclosure for the niches will be constructed and the wall refinished. Memorial Garden 1. An in-ground area dedicated for people’s ashes to be interred in the area leading up to the chapel will be defined. 2. Space on the chapel wall next to the niches will be dedicated for the installation of plaques for people interred in the memorial garden. Landscaping of the ground will be upgraded, the tree overhanging the chapel will be removed, and lighting will be added. The new location has been chosen so that Christ's Lutheran Church can realize the benefits of this end-of-life ministry in 2010. Current funding sources allow us to proceed now rather than waiting. In addition, the new location is beneficial in allowing direct access from the chapel after smaller funerals. If you have any questions or are interested in purchasing a niche or memorial garden reservation, please contact John Frantz (lead - 215-885-4812 or mifrantz@comcast.net), Dave Asher, Glenn Griffin, Pastor Imhof,Keller, or Bob & Andy.
JANUARY 2010 Communion of Saints Ministry at Christ's Church On All Saints Sunday we celebrate the remembrance of all the saints who have gone before us. In our Lutheran tradition the “saints” are all of us. In his sermon for All Saints Sunday, the Reverend Dr. Lyle McKee of St. Thomas Evangelical Lutheran Church Bloomington, Indiana, said, “John affirms what we will confess in just a few moments: ‘I believe in the Holy Spirit, the communion of saints.…” We are a church that is a communion—a community that bridges time, space, death, and life. The meaning of that affirmation of faith will forever hold far greater and deeper meaning now that both of my parents have died." Since the earliest days of the Christian Church, disciples have been concerned with the reverent disposal of the remains of the faithful departed saints. Such remains were typically placed in cemeteries, crypts, and columbaria set apart, that is blessed, for this purpose. Logically, the most treasured location for such reposition was within the church grounds. Pastor Braun in her message in this edition of The Link writes, “Who could be served if we expand our end-of-life ministry and build a columbarium? Maybe there are even others who, like me, have other end-of-life arrangements but believe it is a valid ministry that could touch lives. What lives will be touched, which visitors might return because of anthems sung, scriptures, and messages shared? What needs will we meet for the people in Oreland and nearby communities?” A columbarium and memorial garden at Christ's Church will serve as a visible witness to the understanding of the Communion of Saints by providing a final resting place for members of the congregation and their families as well as other individuals in our community. The columbarium and memorial garden will be a part of the fabric of our church and its ministry. Join a number of your fellow members in supporting a Communion of Saints ministry and the building of a columbarium and memorial garden at Christ's Church. What better place but the church, especially our church, for a person's earthly journey to end? Brochures are in the Narthex or are available from the church office. For more information, contact John Frantz at 215-885-4812 or mifrantz@comcast.net.
DECEMBER 2009Herman Thoenebe was my next door neighbor. Besides being an artist, gourmet cook, and dollhouse maker – all activities he started after he retired – he wrote a column for The Ambler Gazette titled “Gray Matter.” Cleaning out a desk drawer recently I found an article of his I saved titled “Easing Bye-Bye Blues.” The words of his opening paragraph in that article struck me. “Today I’d like to touch on a subject all of us, young and old, must one time face up to. One day hence you are going to give up the ghost, cash in your chips, kick the bucket. To make the occasion easier for those who have to see you off, it might be well to spend a few moments with some of the details.” Nobody wants to think about their death and burial arrangements. But if you don’t take care of the details now you force your grieving relatives to guess what you want and force them to make difficult decisions. Christ’s Church is working on a project to build a Columbarium and Memorial Garden. When this project is built it will provide a burial option for members and friends of the congregation. People can be cremated and inurned in a niche in the Columbarium or be interred in the Memorial Garden. Why be inurned in the Columbarium or interred in the Memorial Garden?
Thirty people have already decided to commit to the Columbarium and Memorial Garden project. Columbarium cost for two people is $1,750 ($1,500 for one). A Memorial Garden reservation is $350. Whether you decide to join the others in committing to Christ Church’s Columbarium and Memorial Garden or not, DON’T PUT OFF MAKING YOUR BURIAL ARRANGEMENTS. One day your family will be glad you did. Brochures are in the Narthex or are available from the church office. For more information, contact John Frantz at 215-885-4812 or mifrantz@comcast.net.
Construction plans are completed AND Financial support is now needed! Please consider purchasing a columbarium niche ($1,750) or memorial garden reservation ($350), or making a special donation, so this new ministry can become a reality at Christ’s Lutheran Church. If economic times make a full purchase difficult right now, a three-year extended payment plan is available. The Columbarium & Memorial Garden is a natural extension of the church’s ministry. We baptize, confirm, and marry in the church. Our church, like many others, can offer a final resting place for our members and their families. In addition to ministering to our members, another great value to our members is the cost of a columbarium vs. burial. Average costs of a burial can run from $6,500 to $10,000. Cost estimates for cremation range from $1,500 to $3,500. A Christ’s Lutheran Church columbarium costs $1,750 for 2 people! To learn more, visit the display table in the Narthex to pick up an informational pamphlet on the project.
JANUARY 2009 At the January annual meeting, a motion was unanimously approved to accept the design and construct the columbarium and memorial garden contingent on obtaining the funding outside the church operating budget.
To learn more, visit the display table in the Narthex and pick up an informational pamphlet on the project.
COLUMBARIUM & MEMORIAL GARDEN (C&MG) UPDATE **** DESIGN COMPLETED**** Plan Display in the Narthex Please take a minute to view the display table in the narthex of the architect’s plan for the proposed CLC columbarium and memorial garden. 1. The color plan is on a poster board. It shows the proposed layout in the courtyard area and describes what will be done. 2. Also, there is a sample of the brass urn, niche that the urn goes in and a sample engraved granite facing stone. Project Overview: o Location in the church courtyard between the sanctuary, office wing and narthex o Construct a 96 niche Columbarium structure o Create a ground level Memorial Garden o Landscape and improve church courtyard Funding: (None from church’s annual budget) o Pre-sales of columbarium niches o Possible endowment interest & memorials o Contributions by interested persons Columbarium: A brick structure housing “niches”. Each niche is 8” x 8” x 16 “long, with space for two brass urns that contain the cremated ashes of two persons. The niche opening is covered by an engraved granite face plate with the persons’ name, birth and death dates. o Niche Purchase cost which includes the 8” x 8” x 16” niche, two brass urns for two persons cremains & engraved granite face plate o CLC Member or former member cost is $1750 (as above with one urn for one person cost is $1500) o Non-member cost is $2000 (one urn for one person cost is $1750) o Purchase includes choice & reservation of Columbarium niche location Memorial Garden: A set-apart area in which cremated ashes are poured directly into the ground and covered by a landscaped ground-cover. Cremated ashes from the deceased person are commingled with other ashes and with the soil in a tangible symbol of the communion of saints. o Memorial Garden Interment cost for a member of Christ’s Church is $350 and for a non-member is $500. For further information please contact any member of the CLC Columbarium & Memorial Garden committee: Dave Asher, Bob Bortz, John Frantz (lead), Glen Griffin, Pastor Imhof, Tim Keller, Bob and Andy Manus or the church office.
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| Last Updated ( Sunday, 14 February 2010 ) |
