The time of death is a difficult time of grief and transition. A goal of St. Paul's is to provide families with pastoral care directed toward healing and hope.

A Columbarium is a permanent structure composed of a collection of niches designed to house cremated human remains. The final disposition of bodily remains signifies our respect for the body of the one we have loved. We commit the body to the grave or columbarium niche, but, more importantly, we commit our loved one to God. In our Christian faith the church is where all events and seasons of life are taught, celebrated , lived and honored: birth, baptism, confirmation, marriage, worship of God, spiritual growth and finally death.

Spiritual Site for Final Resting - this affords church members and their families the opportunity to select their final resting place within the church which has been central to their lives.

Pastoral Care of Members in Perpetuity - St. Paul's provides a sacred site of beauty and dignity where loved ones can visit and meditate at anytime they visit the church.

Simplicity of Planning - The purchase of a columbarium niche eliminates the pressures of choosing a burial site, casket, vault and monument.  It also eliminates the need to plan for internment and memorial services at different locations and times.

Substantial Financial Savings - When using our columbarium significant costs are limited to cremation, the niche and the obituary.

Cremation became more common among Christians in the nineteenth century and since then. The deceased's body passes from our sight but never from God's. Contrary to popular notions about cremation, the body is not burned, but heated so that water evaporates, leaving only solid matter; thus cremation simply speeds the natural processes that take place after death.

Theologically cremation is not a new invention and does not discount our understanding of the resurrection and life everlasting. Since there is little difference between the remains of one who has been buried and one who has been cremated, there is no reason to favor one over the other from a theological point of view. According to the Bible, at the resurrection we were given a "new body," which also means that we will still be our own unique, individual selves. The decision whether to bury of cremate is one that must be made with sensitivity toward all members of the family and their feelings.

Many people have become generally comfortable with the fact that they will die at some point. They would prefer that that "point" be far off in the distance, but they know that it will eventually come. Being able to select one's final resting place where they have received the church's spiritual blessings and comfort allows one to reach beyond their death in a definitive way.

What ever burial method or location we may choose, we can be assured that the gift of eternal life is assured to all who believe. We are creating a place to entrust those we love to the presence and love of God.

Cemeteries were commonly found in churchyards, allowing churches to minister to the spiritual needs of their members from baptism, through life, to death. Urban churches cannot build cemeteries today. The modern alternative which more and more churches are offering their members is the columbarium.