Cremation. Try looking it up on Google!
Have you ever typed the word “cremation” into Google? What did you get? After the sponsored ads, I got locations in my area I could go to that I could get a cremation done. Then of course Wikipedia with an accurate but cold statement of what cremation is. ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cremation) There is even a youtube video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHBaCZ3slis ) you can actually see a cremation being done! It is almost 5 minutes and over 11 million people have viewed it. (Me included) Next a website with information from cremation providers to merchandise you can buy to answer to questions you may have. (http://www.cremationinfo.com/cremationinfo/index.htm )
By now you are probably wondering “what’s my point”?
A Little History About Cremation
It’s said that cremation started in the Stone Age mostly in Europe and spread across Northern Europe. Decorative pottery cremation urns have been found in Western Russia among the Slavic peoples. Cremation spread to the British Isles, Spain and Portugal and later became an integral part of the burial customs for the Greeks. Cremation was widely practiced by the Roman Empire. Cremated remains were stored in intricate cremation urns and placed in columbarium-like buildings.
Around 400 A.D. because of Constantine the Great, the Roman Emperor, who made Christianity the dominant religion; cremation was replaced with in-ground or in-tomb burial. This would remain the accepted practice throughout Europe for approximately 1,500 years.
A Columbarium Program Offers Compassion
Your group is excited it has made the decision to include a Columbarium on the campus. The committee chose the perfect design and construction partner, loves the master plan. Enough niches have been sold so construction of the first phase has been completed. The tracking of the sales online is easy and everything is going great! There is a death of a member and the family approaches you needing help. You are ready to offer guidance in selecting a niche, but realize their grief is deep and they really need your help and compassion.
Columbarium – A Ministry
“Death ends a life, not a relationship”. It is the relationship that is important. The relationship you are building with the family and the relationship the family has with their loved one. You want to help the family to think through ways they can celebrate and remember their loved ones life.
What is a Tribute Center?
Tribute Centers can provide the organization with a vehicle for raising funds for other missions or endeavors while creating a place of spirit. Whether it is team spirit, school spirit, Military association spirit, or community spirit are the areas of interest that a Tribute Center can fulfill.
Why we Memorialize a Loved One
Choosing cremation doesn’t mean a person doesn’t want to be honored, memorialized… remembered. Some individuals want to be cremated and then scattered, but they can still be memorialized. It is important to memorialize because it says that their life mattered. A monument, whether it is a plaque on the outside of a niche, or a plaque on a memorial wall; serves as an everlasting tribute to a life worth remembering. It is a final gift.
