Cremation is the safest and cheapest way to bury a person. A casket funeral can cost upwards of $15,000 (for the casket, the funeral home, the lot and concrete vault, etc.). That is money that is literally poured into a hole in the ground. Inurning (in a niche) or interring (in the ground) cremains can cost several thousand but it can also be done literally free.

• For a few thousand dollars: the body can be cremated, placed in an urn, and then in a plot in the ground.
• For free: the body can be donated to a med school which will cremate it; when they’re finished, they’ll return the ashes to the family who can then scatter the cremains

The cremains are placed in the columbarium in one of three ways:

• In an urn which is set into a niche
• Buried in the ground
  • In an urn (usually biodegradable) which is set into the ground and covered with dirt and grass, or
  • In a hole in the ground which is covered with dirt and grass
• Scattered on the ground and grass

I built a columbarium at one church where we set aside a section of the wall for plaques of people whose ashes were scattered or interred elsewhere. One teen’s ashes were scattered at the beach while another member’s ashes were placed at Arlington National Cemetery near DC. In each case, the family wanted some remembrance of their loved one at the church and we were able to meet that need.

For each of these, we had different pricing levels. We sold niches for singles and spouses (kiddingly referred to as “double-wides”). We sold plaques to memorialize people whose ashes were elsewhere. We also sold interments (placing the ashes in the ground). In all instances, we standardized the wording format on the niche plates and plaques to ensure uniformity. We also sold the urns to be sure they fit inside the niche. I did encourage people with niches to personalize the urns and/or to place personal effects in the niche such as a picture or word tribute (both laminated). Some families did this as part of their communal grieving process.

The columbarium is a part of the family’s grieving and healing. That garden is a place of solace and remembrance.

Lead On!

Steve

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A columbarium is a place where the cremated remains of a person are kept. It comes from the Latin word for dove (columba) because doves build their nests in niches in a wall and cremains are frequently placed in niches.

Burning a body has been a human tradition for millennia because of their health hazards of a decomposing body. Cremated remains are completely safe to handle. Early Christians, who were within one generation of Jesus, were cremated. The catacombs of Rome have thousands of niches where urns with cremains (both Christian and non-Christian) were placed.

Churches have always been a favorite place for putting the dead. In America with its large open spaces, graveyards are common. In Europe, bodies are stacked in mausoleums or cremated. In other parts of the world where space is scare, cremation is the standard. Increasingly, people in the US want to be cremated; they don’t want their bodies taking up space forever.

This presents an option for churches in urban and suburban settings. They can convert one of the church’s gardens or patios into a columbarium. The purposes are several:

• It keeps generations of the family attached to the church and visiting their deceased loved ones at the church
• It provides a revenue stream if done properly. The revenues can pay for the perpetual maintenance of this part of the church grounds.
• It tells the current members that the church honors the lives of the saints by giving them an eternal location.

When the subject of a columbarium comes up, do some research and consider having one. I’ve built two columbaria and each church has loved having it.

Lead On!

Steve

www.churchbestpractices.org – all kinds of FREE church manuals and sample documents
www.financeforchurches.org – 400 plus blogs on every church administration topic you can think of