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Judge OKs move of cemetery |
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Written by DeadGirl
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Friday, 18 June 2004 |
June 17, 2004
By Carl Hessler, Jr,
NORRISTOWN -- A judge Tuesday answered the prayers of some Montgomery Township church members by approving a plan to move a church cemetery to a new location, thus assisting the church’s plan to relocate its ministry.
Hearing no opposition to the plan, Montgomery County Judge Joseph A. Smyth ruled members of the Montgomery Square United Methodist Church can move an estimated 256 graves, dating back to 1862, from their present location at routes 309 and 202, to the Beulah Cemetery in New Britain, Bucks County, five miles away. The church congregation voted 70-2 to approve the move.
"I am very pleased," said William Carling, chairman of the church cemetery committee, whose father and grandparents are buried in the cemetery.
Carling testified Tuesday that the cemetery, once surrounded by rural farmland, is now surrounded by "commercialism" comprised of gas stations, restaurants and shopping centers. Because of the widening of routes 309 and 202 during the last several years, church property has been reduced and some of the graves are situated directly next to the highways.
"The neighborhood has changed. It doesn’t lend itself to a cemetery anymore due to the fact there is so much commercialism around. The cemetery itself is uneven. It’s just not conducive to a cemetery," Carling told the judge, adding noise from heavy truck traffic prevents bereaved families from even hearing a minister’s prayers whenever there is a burial.
Furthermore, the cemetery averages only one burial a year now, Carling testified.
Officials of Beulah Cemetery have agreed to dedicate a section of the Beulah property to accommodate the graves and headstones from the church. Headstones will be placed on new bases and the graves would receive perpetual care, officials said.
All unmarked graves that officials find will also be moved, officials said.
"It’s very quiet there," Carling said about the Beulah Cemetery. "They have plenty of open space."
Church officials will notify surviving members of those buried in the church cemetery by mail about the planned re-interment and their options. The church will pay the costs of the re-interment at Beulah or for cremation services, testimony revealed.
The re-interment will be handled by Kise Straw & Kolodner Inc., a Philadelphia archaeological company that recently oversaw the removal and re-interment of graves to make space for the new Constitution Center in Philadelphia. Douglas B. Mooney, principal archaeologist, was present at Tuesday’s court hearing.
"They will do it appropriately, with respect and dignity," Carling said.
Cost estimates for the re-interment project were unavailable Tuesday and a lot depends on how many unmarked graves are discovered.
Boyertown lawyer Jeffrey C. Karver, who represented the church, said such projects are more common in larger cities and are permitted under state law.
"The widening of the streets took away church property and rendered the property inappropriate for church and cemetery purposes," said Karver.
While the cemetery will be moved to the Beulah property, the church plans to relocate and build a new facility on a 9.9-acre property it purchased for $500,000 at 1900 County Line Road, about four miles from its current location. The church conducted a study in 1997 that determined it needed to increase its membership, but was unable to do so at its current location because the church is surrounded on three sides by its cemetery.
Last month, the church entered into an agreement of sale with Baldridge Properties of St. Louis for the Route 309 property where the church has been located since it was chartered in 1858. The sale was unanimously approved at a congregational meeting, but officials have declined to divulge the sale price.
However, Carling, who was in court Tuesday with the Rev. Dr. Menno Good, said proceeds from the sale of the current church property will help pay for the moving of the graves and the construction of the new church.
http://www.pottstownmercury.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=11987535&BRD=1674&PAG=461&dept_id=18041&rfi=6 |
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