Covenant Lutheran Church Columbarium “Those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give them will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.” John 4:14
Covenant Lutheran Church is blessed to be able to offer a Columbarium Ministry to its members and their families. Death is a difficult time of grief and transition and our goal is to provide families with pastoral care directed toward healing and hope.
From the earliest of Christian times, the church’s role has been the home for the sacraments and ceremonies that members experience at different stages of their spiritual journey: Holy Baptism, confirmation, Holy Communion, spiritual growth, marriage and death.
A Columbarium is a natural extension of this role where those who have worshipped and prayed together in life now await the resurrection of the body. It provides a final resting place with special meaning to church members for whom involvement in the church was an important part of their life on earth and is a visible reminder that the gift of eternal life is assured to all who believe.
The word “Columbarium” comes from the Latin term “Columba” meaning “dovecote or dwelling place of a dove.” In Christian tradition, the dove symbolizes the embodiment of the Holy Spirit. It is a place of contemplation, prayer and remembrance. The Covenant Lutheran Church Columbarium is a permanent structure with niches or compartments designed to hold urns containing the cremated remains (cremains) of loved ones. We commit the body to the grave or Columbarium, but, more importantly we commit our loved one to God.
Cremation and burial have been practiced throughout Christian history. Most recently, for economic and environmental reasons, there has been a growing preference for cremation and a revival of inurement within the church Columbarium.
The Covenant Lutheran Columbarium provides a beautiful, serene and spiritually meaningful Chapel, where families can entrust those they love to the presence and love of God. “I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever”.