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Christians join pagans and humanists to open woodland burial site
Leaders of 11 faiths travelled to Beaconsfield to dedicate the largest woodland burial park in the country yesterday.
Set in ancient woodlands off the A40, the £3.2 million Chilterns Woodland Burial Park at Potkiln Lane opened in October and so far around 40 people are buried there.
By the time it is full around 2000 people will have been laid to rest there, as part of a growing trend away from traditional funerals.
The service was opened by Bishop of Buckinghamshire Rev Allan Wilson who said he was struck by how much nicer it would be to attend a service in a woodland setting than in a crematorium "with terylene curtains."
Also speaking were Father Francis Higgins of St Teresa's Church Beaconsfield and Professor Ann Floyd of Jordans Quakers, along with a Rabbi from Harlow, a Hindu leader from Watford, a Pagan, a humanist, a Buddhist, and a Reverend from the Interfaith Ministry which "embraces the universal truth at the heart of all religions."
Among the congregation was Daphne Buttrum, from Uxbridge, whose late husband Derek was one of the first to be laid to rest at the park. His ashes are in a biodegradable urn buried between two trees and marked by a wooden carving of an owl.
Mrs Buttrum said she found the service very moving. She showed me her husband's spot. "Here he is, " she said. "I've been here three or four times since, I sit on that tree stump and talk to him. He'd be thrilled to bits to be here."
Helen Roebuck, of Woodland Burial Parks, said: "People like to buy plots for themselves, ahead of time, so they can choose their own view. Many of them are in their forties and in the rudest of health, with no intention of dying any time soon."
Plots for two people cost between £2,000 and £3,500 each.
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"Death care" will certainly become greener in the future - we and the earth can be happy about this. However, two critical aspects have mostly been ignored in these discussions: perpetuity of the graves sites and memorialization.
We need to find meaningful and attractive new ways to leave worthy memorials for family and future humanity, ways that fit with contemporary aesthetics and moral values. And we need new ways to ensure these places of memory remain undisturbed forever.
It can only be positive that our resting places will be greener in the future - but let's also think about how to make them meaningful and enduring. Please visit Perpetua's Garden for ideas.
Thomas Friese
http://perpetuasgarden.org