The Memorial Garden

It's a special place...

The garden is a place:

	for prayer and meditation
	where the people of LCOS, young and young at heart, work in Christian fellowship
	where a family gathered in grief to inter a loved one's ashes
	where the memory of those interred there is kept alive

Memorial gift provided:

	plants and flowers
	trees and shrubs
	arbor and brick pathway
	benches and memorial marker

Ground was broken for the garden in April, 1998, and in a very short time, what had been a neighbor's vegetable garden became a very special corner of LCOS's property. This transformation was largely die to the work of a small group of people who made the garden a labor of love.

Easter sunrise service is held in the garden at times; but, sometimes it's just a place to stroll after Sunday morning services to reflect on God's word and to enjoy seasonal flowers in bloom.

Sometimes the garden is referred to as the Prayer Garden. Most of the time, people call it the Memorial Garden. It has been used for both. An inscribed memorial plaque bears the names of those whose ashes have been interred there. It serves as a way to keep the memory of loved ones alive.

Through the garden, the church is able to provide a place in keeping with the ancient practice of churchyard burial.

The garden may be used for members, former members, and their immediate families as a place to rest for cremated remains in the midst of continuing life at LCOS. The garden can also be a simple, less expensive alternative to other interments.

There is a $350.00 fee for interment which covers the cost of adding a brass ribbon to the memorial plaque with the name of dates of birth and death of the deceased. The fee also helps to maintain the garden.

Arrangements for using the garden can be made in advance of need, and a written contract insures the final arrangements. Pre-need planning can be comforting to those who do not wish to burden their families with making arrangements in their time of grief. It can also be spiritually rewarding to know that an enduring, earthly memorial will remain among the community of faith.

Memorial Giving: It's a good idea!

A gift to the Lutheran Church of Our Saviour Memorial Fund

	honors loved ones and keeps their memory alive
	is a thoughtful and enduring expression of sympathy
	commemorates special occasions
	helps to further the work of God at LCOS

Gifts to the LCOS Memorial Fund have provided the:

	memorial garden
	oil candles
	new advent wreath
	sound system
	cabinets for the pre-school
	new dishwasher,just to name a few ways the fund has been used.

The memorial Policy approved by church council governs the operation of the Memorial Fund. Memorial gifts, which are usually monetary in nature, are used to enhance worship and to benefit activities at LCOS.

Committees, ministries, and other groups suggest ideas for the memorials list. The Memorial Policy stipulates that all items on the memorials list must be approved by the memorials committee.

Anyone making a contribution to the Memorial Fund may specifically designate it for an item on the list. If the donation is not designated for any item, it becomes part of the non-designated funds which are used by the memorials committee to acquire items on the list.

The Memorial Policy allows the committee to approve the use of up to $500.00 of the funds without church council approval.

The memorials committee must approve every gift that is not on the list. Memorial funds are used primarily for enduring, tangible items which aid in the fulfillment of LCOS's mission statement.

Neither the church nor the memorials committee is equipped to handle funds for programs or activities unrelated to the church's mission statement.

The memorials committee sends a written thank you note for each gift received. When donations are made as an expression of sympathy, the committee notifies the family in writing of each gift it receives. The congregation receives a report each month in the newsletter of all gifts made to the fund, and entries are made in leather bound memorial ledgers as a permanent record of all gifts. The memorials list is constantly being updated, and a copy is available in the church office.