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6B
MAY 1,1997 AUGUSTA FOCUS
More southerners accepting
cremation as alternative
B Religious taboos are
easing permitting
more people to over
come traditional burial
practices.
By Kathleen Curry
The Charlotte Observor
CHARLOTTE, N.C.
Inanunobtrusive patchof ground
at the Unitarian-Universalist
Church of Charlotte, the day lilies
have pushed through the soggy win
ter ground, a chartreuse promise of
summer.
Jessie Garner nourished those
dayliliesin life. Now, in a sense, she
nourishes them in death. When
Jessie Garner died last fall after a
longillness, her body was cremated.
Her husband, David Morris, and
their 7-year-old daughter Garner
Morris took herashesand sprinkled
them over her favorite place —the
day lily garden.
“Cremation was something we
had discussed and which Jess said
she wanted,” says Morris. “When I
asked her what she wanted done
with her ashes, she said to keep
them at the church. Later, Garner
and I realized how perfect that spot
would be.”
According to national statistics,
the number of people cremated in
the United States has doubled in
the last decade, to more than 21
percent of all who died in 1995. By
12010, that number should surpass
40 percent of U.S. deaths. Even
more striking, though, is the grudg
ing but growing acceptance of cre-
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mation in the South.
InNorth Carolina, cremation was
used in 12.2 percent of all deaths
registered in 1995 — up signifi
cantly since 1985, when 5.8 percent
of the state’s registered deaths in
volved cremation.
In South Carolina, cremations
more than tripled between 1985 to
1995.11n1995,9.75 percent of people
who died were cremated, compared
to 3.7 percent in 1985, according to
the S.C. Departiment of Vital Sta
tistics.
Although one of the oldest meth
ods of disposing of the dead, West
ern culture for centuries viewed
cremation with suspicion. Largely
because of religious taboos — ex
pressed or assumed — Americans
in general and Southerners in par
ticular have clung to the notion of
providing the so-called “proper
Christian burial.”
Today, cremation is in demand
nationally, particularly in crowded
urban areas where burial plots are
premium and pricey, and in the
West, where tradition doesn’t hold
much sway.
In Charlotte, cremation has be
come accepted enough that the su
pervisor of the city’s public cem
eteries believes the city ought to
consider building a public
columbarium — a wall or other
structure, usually in a garden set
ting, which has niches to house
ashes. “I think it’s something we’d
look at in the future as a good in
vestment and revenuesource,” even
though the city has plenty of burial
space left, says supervisor Mike
Shroyer.
Other N.C. citiesalready think so
— Durham officials last year an
Spirit
nounced plans for a public
columbarium and a campaign to
encourage cremation, hopingtocut
down on budget-busting cemetery
maintenance costs.
Thedeciding factor for many who
choose cremation may be cost. Even
a cremation with a large funeral
and other ceremonies attached will
cost farless than a traditional burial
and funeral.
“Although at our funeral home, I
don’t think the cost is the primary
reason for a family choosing crema
tion, I know it is probably the big
gest factor overall” in the industry,
says Bobby Keller of Harry & Bryant
Co. funeral director in Charlotte.
Longtime religious taboos have
eased in some cases, say local fu
neral directors and ministers.
Catholic doctrine specifically out
lawed cremation as desecration of
the body until 1969. Now, although
the body must be present for a
funeral Mass to be said, cremation
isasacceptable as burial afterward.
Meanwhile, a number of Presby
terian, Episcopalian and other Prot
estant churches in Charlotte and
surrounding communities already
have built memorial gardens with
columbaria to house church mem
bers’ ashes.
“Charlotte is definitely chang
ing,” Keller says. “I’m sure the new
people we have coming in here and
in the rest of the state are a large
part of that. After all, we all know
FOCUS your church news on
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Bethel African Methodist
..1.. Episcopal Church ..I.
623 Crawford Avenue
Augusta, Georgia 30904
Rev. Larry W. Hudson, Sr. Pastor
Office: (706) 736-4060
Sunday Wednesday
v 9:30 Sunday School 7:00 Bible Study
11:00 Worship Service
that what’s traditional in Califor
niaisn’t necessarilysointheSouth.”
Onething that apparently hasn’t
changed much, however, is that
African Americans rarely choose
cremation. Statesdonot break down
statistics based on race, but area
black ministerssay they don’t often
hear of cremations.
“In 28 years, I've had two people
choose cremation — that’sit,” says
the Rev. Harold Diggs of Mayfield
Memorial Baptist Church, which
has 2,500 members, almost all of
whom are African American. “It’s
justnot customary, and peopledon’t
want to go against custom.”
Many of his parishioners think
the Bible prohibits disposing of a
body in ways other than burial. “It
doesn’t, but they won’t be swayed
in that thought,” Diggs says. “Most
folks are so attached to the body,
they come to think of it as sacred.
We haven’t come to grips with the
fact that the individual is in the
soul. It’s not that the body has a
soul, it’s that the soul has abody —
for a time.”
For David Morris and Jessie Gar
ner, the idea that a person’s physi
cal presence is fleeting was high on
their list of reasons for choosing
cremation. “Jess and I felt strongly
in the cyclical nature of life,” he
says. “As Unitarian Universalists,
concern about the afterlife was
much less significant for us than
concern about life itself.”
THE AMEN CORNER
M Thankful Baptist Church, 302 Walker St., will be continuing
a Spring Revival through Friday, May 2. The weekday revivals will
beginat 7 p.m. nightly with Rev. Dr. Blakely Scott, pastor of the First
Nazareth Baptist Church of Columbia, S.C., as guest evangelist for
the week. Rev. Gregory A. Young is pastor.
B St. Mark United Methodist Church, 1296 Marks Churchßd.,
will hold their Spring Revival, Tuesday through Thursday, May 6 -
8, at 7 p.m. nightly. Guest preachers will be: Rev. Larry W. Hudson
Sr. on Tuesday; Rev. Dr. Robert W. Turner Jr. on Wednesday and
Rev. James A. Hogan on Thursday.
B The members of the Augusta District Missionary Society,
C.MLE. Church, are sponsoring a district-wide Golden Missionary
March and Fellowship on Saturday, May 3, at 6 p.m., at the
Vanderhorst C.M.E. Church in Thomson, Ga. The main feature of
the program will be the honoring of all missionaries who are 80 years
of age or older. Another feature will be the official crowning of the
1997-98 Missionary Queen. Ms. Darnell Daniels is general chair
person and Mrs. Ruth Douglas is district president. Rev. Gene R.
Dean is the presiding elder.
B Macedonia Baptist Church, 1828 Wrightsboro Rd., has free
clothing for those in need. The Clothes Closet hours of operation are
11 a.m. - 1 p.m. on Saturdays. For additional information, please
contact Ms. Candy Katz at 737-6834 (Monday, Wednesday, Friday
and Saturday).
B The Friendly Church of God in Christ, 1115 Carrie St., will
be serving a weekly meal to anyone in the Laney-Walker Blvd. area
who is hungry. The church will serve meals every Wednesday from
11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Elder Leroy James is pastor.
B Maranatha Christian Center, 400 Warren Rd., offers an 8
a.m. communion service, 9 and 10:30 a.m. early worship services, a
12:15 a.m. gospel “camp meeting” service, a 5 p.m. school of the Holy
Spirit and a 7 p.m. arts and drama in worship service. A nursery is
always provided.
Enhance your office waiting
room; buy a subscription to
Augusta Focus for only $24.95
per year. Call 724-7855 to
arrange your purchase.
Williams Memorial
"W/ C.M.E. Church
Rev. Alex R. King
1630 Fifteenth St. Augusta, GA 30901
(706) 733-9430
Sunday: Sunday School 9:30 a.m.
Worship Service 11:00 a.m.
Ist Sunday Evening 6:30 p.m.
Wed: Praise Bible Study 7:00 p.m.
Thurs: Senior Services 10:00 a.m.
Day Care Center:
6:45 a.m. -5:30 p.m.
T&]}D ernac ]l@
Baptist Church
Dr. C.S. Hamilton, Minister
1223 Laney-Walker Blvd.
Augusta, GA 30901
Church School 9:30 A.M. *Morning Worship 11
AM. Broadcast Hour (WTHB 1550) « Nursery,
Kindergarten Opene Bible Study-Tues. 6 P.M.
Prayer Meeting Tues. 7 P.M.*Daily Kindergarten
Services 7 AM. to 5§ P.M.
Enhance your office waiting
room; buy a subscription to
Augusta Focus for only $24.95
per year. Call 724-7855 to
arrange your purchase.