Faith Matters: Dignity For All Burials
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What happens when people can’t afford to bury their loved ones or if that person doesn’t have any known friends or family? One Montgomery church is stepping up to make sure everyone is buried in peace, regardless of whether they have the money or a family.
Dirt; tombstones; markers — all signs of what may look like your ordinary cemetery. But it’s not.
In this portion of Oakwood Cemetery, the lay lector is usually the only person attending the burial.
“I’ve only been here one time that a family showed up,” Said lay lector, Bill Hicks. “Otherwise, family? I’ve never seen any family and friends at a funeral.”
Hicks is a member of The Children of God Guild, an organization within the Episcopal Church of the Ascension in Montgomery. He prays and reads scripture for people being buried here at the Children of God Cemetery, inside Oakwood Cemetery. It’s the final resting place for those who can’t afford a burial, or don’t have family.
“That’s what I feel that everyone, regardless of their station in life, deserves a decent funeral,” Said Hicks. He says despite being the only person at the burials, there’s still a sense of kinship.
“Today, I spoke about this gentleman we buried , I always speak something and wonder what his life was like as a child and as an adult… and did something go [wrong]? Did he make a wrong step? Was he laid off from his job?” Said Hicks.
That person is the last to be buried here cecause the Children of God cemetery is full. 400 graves — most of them without a name. Still, the organization wants them to rest in peace, allowing for the same dignity and respect as anyone else being given their final resting place.
Because the church has performed so many pauper burials, Oakwood Cemetery plans to open another section of the cemetery.
While to some, these services may seem unsettling, members of Children of God Guild told me this is their calling.
The church says it couldn’t bury people for free without the help of the city and county. The city provides the space and the county funds services to prepare the body.
