[Editor's Note: This is the second in a series of articles about columbaria. Read the first article here.]
Three main factors seem to be driving the trend toward columbaria, according to a 2013 Star Telegram article:
* Churches are embracing the traditional concept of churchyard burial;
* Cremation and niche cost significantly less than casket and gravesite; and
* The option is environmentally friendly.
Changing demographics and the easing of Christian objections have helped drive the increase in the acceptance of cremation in recent decades. For many of the faithful, it's a comfort to know that their earthly remains will sit in a place of peace and beauty, close to where they spent many meaningful hours over their lifetimes.
Quoting the president of Thompson's Harveson & Cole Funeral Home, the number of people choosing cremation in the DFW area has increased from 5 percent to 40 percent in the last 15 years. Furthermore, it may increase to 75 percent in the next 10 years.
Columbaria are environmentally friendly when compared to traditional graveyards. According the owner of a firm that has built columbaria in 1,200 churches of various denominations, "A columbarium with 200 niches holding 400 urns can easily fit on the space of one cemetery plot; you cut out the emissions from mowing the grass every week, the water needed for the grass, and on and on."
In 2009, the Texas Legislature changed the law to allow columbaria anywhere on a church campus.The appeal of building a columbarium must be carefully weighed against a church's long-term facilities vision, due to the sanctity of the area.
Our next article will provide an overview of such considerations as might be applied should a columbarium be constructed at Arborlawn. For more information, please contact Paula Thomas.
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