The idea of a Memorial Garden is reminiscent of early America when churches with graveyards dotted the countryside in close-knit communities where the church was the center of social and spiritual life.

 

The churchyard cemetery allowed the church to care for its deceased members and keep them close, and the gravestones were silent monuments to those who wanted to be near the church they loved. As time has passed, the quiet dignity of the church graveyard has been replaced by remote and impersonal cemeteries.

 

To regain the past, an increasing number of churches are replacing the space requirements of church graveyards with columbariums to hold the ashes of loved ones located in Memorial Gardens, places of tranquility where young and old can visit and feel the omnipresent love of the Lord.