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Christ Church Cathedral Memorial Garden
The Very Reverend Graeme Lawrence OAM
“A Memorial Garden is a sign of hope and faith and it is a further reminder that Christians because of the birth of Jesus Christ, honour and respect the human body. It is the Christian belief that our mortal remains should be treated with care and that they should not be disposed of without thought. It has been through our physical body that the creative work of God has been experienced.
The Christian faith teaches that the continuing love and grace of God made visible through the Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ has shown clearly the deep desire of God to embrace all people. The Resurrection of Jesus gives us the faith to believe that at death “life is changed, not taken away”.
I warmly commend the use of this Memorial Garden for the placing of the ashes of our loved ones. May it be a place of peace and prayer and point us always to Jesus who is “The Resurrection and the Life”.
Christ Church Cathedral stands high above the city of Newcastle overlooking the business of the city, the harbour and its wonderful coastline.
It is the place where the people of our city have gathered to worship, to celebrate and to grieve since the very first European settlement of the area. In the early 1800s the first church was built on the site and a burial ground established as was the custom at that time. Many changes have taken place over the last 200 years but the Cathedral is still the most significant and known image in the city.
A churchyard has been a traditional burial place throughout centuries of Christian history. Only recently in our history has society set aside separate areas for burial, isolated and distant. The vision of the Dean of Newcastle has been to provide the Diocese of Newcastle with a sacred memorial garden within the grounds of the much loved Cathedral . This now has become reality with the assistance of generous benefactors from the Cathedral congregation.
Conceived by award winning landscape designer Darren Shearer, the Memorial Garden is a place of contemplation, peace and remembrance... a place of memory and hope of the future, respect for those who have passed on and a gift for those to come.
Prior planning for the deposition of one’s own remains after death, as well as for the memorial service, can contribute greatly to the well being of the family in a time of emotional stress. Arrangement in advance for space in the Memorial Garden can lift the burden of decision from family members grieving the loss of a loved one.
Ashes will be placed in a designated place in the Garden. A permanent record of this will be made and kept in the Cathedral records. Your certificate will be your record of this act of remembrance.
Independently of any funeral service each placement of ashes will be accompanied by a service in either the St Nicholas or St Michael chapels of the Cathedral. Names of those interred in the Garden will be recorded in a Book of Remembrance displayed in the Cathedral and those names will be remembered each year in daily services.
An optional and additional record will be be kept through the Christ Church Cathedral Memorial Garden website with links to the Cathedral website. Details of loved ones whose ashes are placed in the Garden can be recorded on the website and so made accessible worldwide.
As part of Christ Church Cathedral the Memorial Garden will be there for all time, receiving constant care and attention to maintain its serenity, tranquillity and remembrance. A Permanent Trust will ensure the perpetual preservation of the memories placed there.
