The Shepherd’s Garden

The final phase of our campus is underway with a beautiful, peaceful garden nestled between the Sanctuary and Shipp Chapel. Tom Shipp has been referred to as the Shepherd’s Pastor, and so it is fitting to connect this legacy in this setting.

Lovers Lane United Methodist Church is honored to offer you an option to consider, we have designed a Columbarium which will provide a permanent resting place for our loved one’s mortal remains.

The garden will serve several functions, with it’s proximity to worship areas and the Lovers Lane Columbarium. To maximze the garden’s potential to serve as a preferred point of meditation, numerous features have been scheduled, and may be supported with your financial gift. Although it may not be apparent to us all, there is good reason behind the longhonored tradition of visiting the final resting place of family and close friends. Psychologists are aware of the importance of establishing a per- manent memorial site as it provides a focal point for our grief, without which the trauma of bereavement may be prolonged to a potentially damaging extent. I thank you for considering supporting the garden and I am happy to meet with you if you have any questions.

In a return to church tradition, it provides members of the Church and their families the opportunity to choose the shadow of the church, which has been central to their lives, as their final resting place. The site is a place of beauty and dignity where friends and family can visit and meditate at any time.

In Christ’s love, Dr. Stan Copeland

More Information

• Contact our Family Memorial Advisor, Elaine Dancer

 Columbarium

Since one of the most difficult and stressful decisions we make in our lifetime is choosing funeral and cemetery arrangements after a death, pre-planning has become a thoughtful and meaningful gift for those left behind. Lovers Lane United Methodist Church is honored to offer you an option to consider, we have designed a Columbariurn which will provide a permanent resting place for our loved one’s mortal remains. Although it may not be apparent to us all, there is good reason behind the longhonored tradition of visiting the final resting place of family and close friends. Psychologists are aware of the importance of establishing a permanent memorial site as it provides a focal point for our grief, without which the trauma of bereavement may be prolonged to a potentially damaging extent.

In a return to church tradition, it provides members of the Church and their families the opportunity to choose the shadow of the church, which has been central to their lives, as their final resting place. The site is a place of beauty and dignity where friends and family can visit and meditate at any time.

The simplicity of arrangements eliminates the pressures of choosing a burial site, casket, vault and monument. It provides a place for internment immediately adjacent to the Sanctuary. There is also a substantial financial savings. The combined cost of a columbarium niche and cremation are less than one-fourth the cost of a casket, burial site, and marker. In early Rome, the term Columbarium meant a nesting place for doves. When Christians, relegated to Rome’s catacombs, began using cliff-side niches to seal away ashes of the faithful who died, the term “Columbarium” took on its present meaning: sacred compartments for storage of cremated remains. The Columbarium at Lovers Lane United Methodist Church holds true to our Christian heritage. It allows our members to choose the sanctity of their church as an enduring place of rest.