HOME
SUNDAY SCHEDULE
NEWSLETTER
CALENDAR
DIRECTIONS
LEADERSHIP
PROGRAMS
OUR BELIEFS
SERMONS
RELIGIOUS EDUCATION
SOCIAL ACTION
ABOUT US
CONTACT US
The primary possibilities and issues that have been identified regarding a memorial garden at Eliot are outlined below. These topics are: 1) Need and type, 2) Memorial record, 3) Location, 4) Fees and funding, and 5) Interment.
Need and type
Much consideration has been given to having a serene meditative garden with plantings and places to sit. The site would be landscaped with trees, shrubs and flowering plants and would not look like a cemetery. If ashes of persons cremated are to be interred in the garden, options for doing so are discussed under "Interment" below. Various types of memorials have been considered:
- a memorial garden (garden with memorial plaques) but no ashes
- a memorial garden with ashes scattered
- a memorial garden with ashes interred—either mixed with the soil or in a biodegradable container
- a memorial garden with ashes interred in a permanent container
- a columbarium—ashes in permanent container sealed in a wall
- scattering ashes on Eliot property without a designated garden
- a memorial wall with plaques—perhaps inside the chapel—with or without a garden
Memorial record
Numerous types of memorial objects have been donated to Eliot over the years: chairs, hymnals, trees, the finial on the steeple, plaques, etc. Unfortunately, many of these have been forgotten or no longer recognized. Some discussion has been given to establishing a memorial book which would record such gifts and their location. Such a book could also contain information about each of the people memorialized in the Memorial Garden. This book would serve as a historical record of persons and for keeping their memory alive.
Memorialization of persons in the garden would likely include a plaque, a brick, or a sandblasted inscription which would have the person's name and dates of birth and death. These name markers may be placed in the garden itself or possibly inside the church on a wall dedicated to that purpose.
Location
Several locations for a memorial garden have been considered: 1)Northeast corner visible from the sanctuary through glass panes, 2) Atrium courtyard, 3) Lawn area adjacent to new parking lot, and 4) Bergfried. Each of these options have pro's and con's. Generally having an area of sufficient size which is accessible and suitable for being made into a meditative garden are considered positives. It is also desirable that designating an area as a memorial garden not interfere with potential future building construction or maintenance.
Northeast corner visible from the sanctuary through glass panes - This area has the advantages of accessibility and not interfering with potential construction or maintenance. It is approximately 2600 square feet in area which will provide an ample size for a memorial garden. It is also the high ground on the Eliot campus so water flows from it against the building. A memorial garden here would include a drainage system to improve plant growth and would also alleviate some of the water problems that we currently have. Another benefit to this area is that the garden plantings would screen the view from the sanctuary of activity on Argonne. A professional landscape plan for making this area into a memorial garden was done in the summer of 2001.
A drawback to the NE corner is that it would be visible from the sanctuary and maybe not private during church services. Plantings may have to screen at least part of the garden.
Atrium courtyard - In the past, there has been much interest in using this area for a memorial garden. It is secluded and can clearly be made into a meditative area. The courtyard (area 840 square feet) is unused at the present time. The memorial space doesn’t need to be accessible at all hours—only when the church is open. Garden landscaping would improve a currently unsightly area.
Drawbacks to the courtyard are that it is small, construction equipment will need to be set up there when stonework is repaired, and one might possibly get locked in there.
Lawn area adjacent to new parking lot - This area was purchased by Eliot a few years ago. Part of it was made into a parking lot and part was reserved as a picnic and play area after a congregational survey. There is ample room for a memorial garden in the unpaved portion of the lot (approximately 7500 square feet). There are some advantages to this space because it is physically removed from the sanctuary.
It would be up to the feelings of the congregation to decide if a play area and a memorial garden would be conflicting uses of the space. Before it was developed into a parking lot, the congregation was insistent that some of this area be preserved as green space. If the congregation changes its mind about the use of this space in favor of more parking, there would be a direct conflict with a memorial garden.
Bergfried - This 600 acre undeveloped land owned by Eliot would make an excellent place for interring or spreading ashes. Since it is 80 miles from Kirkwood, Bergfried does not provide the accessibility that is desired. However, it is very reasonable for one to be memorialized at Eliot with a plaque, etc. and have his/her ashes at Bergfried. For this reason, Bergfried probably may be considered an alternative place for those who so desire to have their ashes.
Fees and funding
It is expected there will be a fee for memorializing a person in the Eliot Memorial Garden. This should make the memorial garden be self-funding. Ongoing costs will be for maintenance of plantings and for engraving of name markers. One matter to be resolved is if there should be different charges for whether or not ashes are interred? Fees at most other churches run in the neighborhood of $750-$1000. It would probably be desirable for one of the ministers to recommend a fee waiver or reduction in cases of special need.
The cost for implementing a memorial garden in the northeast corner according to the landscape plan made for it is approximately $50,000. The cost would obviously need to be determined for other landscape designs or for other locations. The landscape plan for the northeast corner includes a low wall, suitable for seating and for name marking, which is $20,000 of the $50,000 cost. If necessary, the garden could be built in stages. If the chapel loans seed-money from other funds for the installation of the garden, the money should be repaid from memorial garden revenues. Perhaps special contributions and advance commitments for memorializations can provide some of the funds required for the implementation.
Interment
One of the proposed procedures for interment is to establish a grid which would not be marked in the garden but would be kept in a separate record book. Ashes could be interred into a square of the grid by rolling back the sod from that square and digging a sufficiently deep hole. During a formal ceremony(optional), the ashes could be mixed with the soil before the hole is refilled and the sod replaced. Alternately, a biodegradable urn containing ashes could be placed into the hole. This procedure would allow the squares of the grid to be reused in future years after all of the squares have been used. If the Eliot congregation were to move to a different location, the ashes that were interred there would have spread into the soil and would remain in place without being moved. Plaques and other memorials could be moved.
If non-biodegradable urns are used, reuse of previously used spaces could not be reused.