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Memorial Garden and Columbarium

The Memorial Garden and Columbarium are cared for and maintained under a perpetual care arrangement supervised by the Session.

The Columbarium is located in the Memorial Garden between the sanctuary and fellowship hall. This beautiful natural setting is a repository for the cremains of members and their loved ones as well as a setting for visitation and meditation. Each permanently constructed niche is faced with a bronze plaque containing the name of the deceased. Benches are provided amongst a living landscape. Paintings created by Ross Snodgrass not only add to the setting but depict the seven days of creation as described in Genesis 1-2.

Throughout its history, the church has served to baptize us and to bury us. Increasing cost has caused churches to abandon in most locations the accustomed role of providing a place for burial. As a result, commercial funeral homes and cemeteries began to fill the void by providing burial space and, in many instances, conducting funeral services. As a part of its continuing ministry, Desert Palms Presbyterian Church is offering its members and families the privilege of inurnment in its own Columbarium.



Cremation is consistent with the Church’s understanding of the Christian Faith. It is felt that the preservation of cremains is a proclamation of faith in the resurrection of the dead. The Session of Desert Palms Presbyterian Church has set aside the dedicated ground of the Memorial Gardens as an especially fitting site for the Columbarium.