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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's) Regarding Cremation
Cremation, Urns and Columbaria Cremation remains are the skeletal portion of the body, which is what is left after the cremation process. These remains are then processed to achieve a uniform sand-like consistency. Is cremation acceptable according to the doctrine of my church? Your church leadership and its columbarium committee have researched this issue before making the decision to install an Infinity Memorial SystemsT columbarium for its members. The Episcopal Church. A columbarium is a structure that contains niches for placing urns. Columbaria can be located at churches, cemeteries, mausoleums, crematoria (where only columbaria are operated) or other locations. Niches are the spaces in a columbarium where urns are placed (referred to as inurnment). IMS niches are covered by memorial marker plates that are engraved with the specific information regarding the people inurned in them. Do I purchase my niche from the church? The church actually owns the columbarium and is considered church property. What you are purchasing is the right to be inurned in the church columbarium referred to as a Right of Inurnment . Essentially, you are reserving a specific niche space in the columbarium at the time of the financial transaction as set forth in the columbarium guidelines drawn up by the columbarium committee of the church which have been approved by your church's leadership. Do many churches operate columbaria? More and more churches are building columbaria to serve their members. Industry studies project that 85% of churches which practice cremation will be operating columbaria by the year 2015. What are the advantages of having a columbarium at the church? Many church members favor the idea of being inurned at the place that they worship. The church also provides a place where family members can frequently pay their respects. Having a columbarium where family members worship can enhance participation in the church from generation to generation. Finally, by reserving a niche in the church columbarium, members can support many crucial ministries and programs. What happens if the church relocates? The Infinity Memorial SystemsT columbarium chosen by your church is designed to be easily moved to a new location. Where niches have been permanently installed, urns and memorial plates can be removed and relocated. Is the church columbarium secure? Yes. The niches are covered by plates that are attached with special security-head screws. Additionally, the Infinity UrnsT that are placed inside the niches feature a perpetual seal to safeguard cremation remains. Can family members reserve niches next to one another? Your church columbarium committee has adopted guidelines for the reservation of niches by families or otherwise affiliated members. It may be possible to have larger memorial marker plates covering several niches if your church has designed its columbarium to accommodate multiple niche covers. What are the advantages of reserving a niche in advance? There are three primary benefits to reserving niches in advance. First, it can be comforting to surviving family members when death care details have been pre-arranged by a loved one who has died. Second, because prices can rise over time, a better value may be obtained by reserving niches in advance. Finally, your church can operate its columbarium more efficiently if the needs of her members can be predicted by advance purchases, thus enabling the church to anticipate and plan for expansion of its columbarium. Are urns included with the niches? Many churches choose to include the Infinity UrnT when they install their columbaria. However, this is not required and urns may be available through authorized funeral service providers, your church, or your Infinity Memorial SystemsT Distributor. Do I have to use an Infinity UrnT? IMS Columbaria and urn filling system are uniquely designed to provide the maximum number of niches per square foot in the space available for memorialization. Infinity UrnsT were specifically designed to fit into the IMS niches and to be used in the urn filling process. What is the urn filling process? CTI has patented a process that reduces the volume of the cremation remains so that they can fit into the Infinity UrnT and placed into the columbarium niche. When people arrange for all or part of their death care services in advance of death, this is referred to as "pre-need". Pre-need products and services can include niches, urns, memorial marker plates and engraving, cremation, and other funeral related services. Your church has arranged for you to be able to reserve a niche which includes a memorial marker plate on a pre-need basis and, perhaps, an urn/urn filling services and engraving of the memorial marker plate. It may also be possible to purchase other cremation and funeral services through your local authorized funeral home, the church, or your Infinity Memorial SystemsT distributor. How will cremation and other services be provided? Cremation and other funeral related services can be provided in a number of ways. Depending on the scope of the program adopted by your columbarium committee, some or all of these services could be available through the church. Local funeral homes or your Infinity Memorial SystemsT distributor may also provide these services. Various Cremation Societies, either local or national, also sell packages for direct cremation. Some direct cremation companies offer local/regional services while others can provide services regardless where you are at the time of your death. Further information may be available from your church but also can be found on the internet by typing "direct cremation" or "cremation society" into a search engine. What happens if a family moves and wants to purchase a niche at its new church? Your church columbarium committee can provide guidance on how to arrange for transferring an urn to a new columbarium and whether or not your niche reservation can be resold to another church member. What happens if a family moves and wants to take a family member's urn to its new church? Again, your church columbarium committee can provide guidance on how to arrange for relocation of an urn in its columbarium. It is nice to know that Infinity UrnsT are perpetually sealed so that cremains will not spill during transport. What happens when all of the columbarium niches are reserved? Infinity Memorial SystemsT are designed so that columbaria can be easily expanded. Your church should not have difficulty in arranging for additional niches in its columbarium. How and when is the memorial marker plate engraved? Memorial marker plates are typically engraved at the same time that urns are filled with the cremation remains. Your church has arranged for this service to be done either as part of your niche purchase or through another provider such as your Infinity Memorial SystemsT distributor. What are the advantages of placing cremation remains in a niche versus scattering? Some churches do permit the scattering of cremation remains. Niches, however, provide a permanent location for cremation remains that are directly associated with the individual and are continually available to family members for remembrance. Is my purchase tax deductible? A portion of your niche reservation and urn purchase may be tax deductible. Your church administration or columbarium committee can provide you with the percentage of your purchase that is deductible as a charitable contribution. How much will it cost to reserve a niche and purchase an urn in the church columbarium? Your church has set the price of these items with consideration of providing its members with a good value and also raising funds for critical missions and programs. The cost is typically less than comparable items offered through commercial concerns. Is cremation less expensive than a traditional burial? In most cases cremation and related services and products are less expensive than traditional burials. This may, in part, account for the increasing popularity of cremation. |
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Updated:
July 21, 2008
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Created: 11/12/06 |