The acceptance of cremation for Christian burial has never been higher. In response, Pohick
Church has reserved a portion of its grounds as a perpetual Memorial Garden. The Garden is laid
out in ten sections, each approximately ten feet by ten feet. Within each section, the first of
which is currently in use, one hundred square sites are scribed.
The Garden is perpetual in that when the day comes that all spaces have been filled, interments
will begin again at the first location. That day will not come for some hundreds of years. Those
resting in the Garden are thus not to be thought of as interred at an exact location but rather “in
the Garden.” Interments may only be conducted in special fiber cylinders furnished by the
Church. These cylinders will decompose naturally over the course of time.
Burials were originally conducted in the first, or “Dogwood” section at a depth of about three
feet. That level is now filled, and so interments are presently being done at a depth of two feet.
When those are filled, they will be done at a depth of one foot. Only then will a new section be
opened. There is therefore sufficient space to accommodate the burial of some three thousand
sets of remains before returning to the Dogwood section.
The fee for interment in the Memorial Garden is currently $450 for parishioners. Nonparishioners incur a slightly higher fee. The fee includes perpetual care and the installation of a
commemorative name plate on the large marker at the head of the section