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Cemetery relocation to provide refuge from sprawl |
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Written by DeadGirl
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Monday, 19 July 2004 |
MARIANNA MACRI
Associated Press
MONTGOMERYVILLE, Pa. - A small church facing large-scale sprawl and a busy suburban intersection has decided the only way to ensure its survival is to move - and to bring its dead with it.
Cemetery moves are relatively commonplace, especially in areas undergoing rapid development. To make way for public works and private construction projects, long-forgotten graves and remains are often relocated.
In this case, however, the removal of more than 250 bodies is voluntary.
The 212-member Montgomery Square United Methodist Church has felt the pressures of suburban sprawl on their two-acre church grounds most strongly in the past 10 years, as Montgomeryville has gradually transformed from a rural crossroads to a full-fledged suburban city.
Dramatic changes have occurred within the last generation, said the Rev. Menno E. Good, the church's pastor. Because of nearby department stores, strip malls and fast-food spots, the 162-year-old, one-room sanctuary is besieged by noise and traffic, especially during the holiday season.
During a recent funeral service, two large trucks pulled up side-by-side at the traffic light next to the cemetery.
"When the light turned green, they both floored it," Good said. "It sounded like a drag race."
Moving a cemetery in the midst of a congested commercial strip is a unique challenge, said Doug Mooney, the project's chief archaeologist. He said his previous church-commissioned excavations had the benefit of being in rural areas.
"The others were in the middle of nowhere, so there wasn't a lot of attention," he said. "Here, we want to make sure that people aren't staring at the bodies of the deceased while they're eating their lunch at Burger King."
The archaeologists erected a fence and opaque screen around the cemetery to ensure some privacy. It will shield the site for the next two months, until all bodies are removed and the project is complete.
The relocation, supported by a 70-2 vote of the church council, is intended to invigorate many aspects of the ministry, including church membership, which Good said has reached a plateau.
William Carlson, the church's lay leader and chairman of the cemetery committee, said that many congregants were initially opposed to the disinterment. But an archaeological presentation and a ministry audit convinced them that the move was crucial to the future viability of the church.
"I'm glad to get them out of there," he said of his relatives - including his father, grandparents, and great-grandfather - buried in the cemetery. "You picture a cemetery as being serene and quiet and peaceful, and this location is far from that."
The new church will occupy a sprawling 10-acre property three miles from the current site. The new burial ground will be five miles away, at Beulah Cemetery.
Kies Straw and Kaladner, a Philadelphia cultural resource firm, has begun excavating the pauper's section of the cemetery, an area with an unknown number of unmarked graves. Mooney said workers plan to remove the top two feet of soil with a backhoe before the more delicate excavation - scheduled for this week - is conducted by hand. The sidewalk and paved areas of the site will also be uncovered.
Workers will rely on subtle soil discoloration to indicate where graves were dug, Mooney said. After being photographed and put into temporary fiberglass coffins, each set of remains will be plotted on a laser survey grid for identification.
To fill the gaps created by weathered and illegible headstones, the pauper's section, and incomplete church records, a forensic anthropologist will assist in determining the sex and approximate age of each body not listed in church records.
Most of the remains will be transported to the new resting place at Beulah Cemetery in New Britain. Some families have opted to have the remains cremated first, while others decided to independently move the remains to a location unaffiliated with the church.
Good has presided over a consecration of the new church grounds, and offered a prayer ceremony for families. After the cemetery is emptied, a deconsecration ceremony will be held, making the land available for other uses.
The church has received at least three offers from real estate developers for its land, including one from a developer for a drug store chain.
Mooney said his firm has been doing more church-commissioned excavations in the past five years, and he would not be surprised if demand for the work grew in the future.
Church members often express trepidation, however, because of the unusual emotional, psychological, and spiritual concerns surrounding the process.
"Nobody ever enters into these decisions lightly. ... There's always a great deal of soul searching. In every example I've encountered this is always the last option, never the preferred option," he said.
http://www.timesleader.com/mld/timesleader/9190689.htm |
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Taphophilia?
taphophilia (taf′ō-fil′ē-ă)
ORIGIN:
From the Greek words taphos, meaning "tomb" or "sepulcher" and philia, meaning "attraction or affinity to something, in particular the love or obsession with something"
DEFINITION: 1. An excessive interest in graves and cemeteries. 2. A love or fondness for funerals, graves, and cemeteries. 3. In psychiatry, a morbid attraction to graves and cemeteries
Quote Repository
“Its funny the way most people love the dead. Once you are dead, you are made for life.” Jimi Hendrix, Rolling Stone, D
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