The Columbarium
First Presbyterian Church has been the focal point shaping the spiritual life of individuals and families for more than 125 years. The seasons of life are celebrated – from birth, baptism, worship, marriage, spiritual growth, and finally death in the Lord. Christians are promised that death is never the final word. With this truth, we can celebrate and honor the lives of members in the very location where we most often shared the love of Jesus Christ together.
Ninety years after opening our present building at 11th Avenue and Harrison Street, the east courtyard will be enhanced with a columbarium surrounded by a beautiful prayer garden. A columbarium features a wall of niches that accommodate urns containing the earthly remains of any member or former member of the church and their families.* There could be no more fitting place for the remains of a Christian than a columbarium within the grounds of one’s own church. The surrounding prayer garden is a quiet, peaceful setting in which to remember, meditate, pray, or comfort the bereaved. Inurnment services and other worship occasions may be conducted in the garden. Strong and enduring building materials complement the rich history of the people who built the church and its fine Neo-Gothic architecture. As we are called to be good stewards in this life and for generations to come, land use is minimized.
*Eligibility for inurnment is outlined in the Columbarium Policies.
A columbarium offers an affordable alternative to traditional burial. The fee of $2,500 or $3,000 per niche accommodating two urns includes a granite memorial front with names of the inurned, dates of birth and death, the costs of opening and closing for inurnment, and continuing care. Other final arrangements for cremation and properly fitting urns may be made with funeral homes.
Packets containing full information, Policies, and an application are available by email at columbarium@firstpres.com, at firstpres.com, or in the church office. Karen Jordan (806-341-1794) is the moderator of the Columbarium Committee that manages the columbarium.
The J. Gregg Jordan Memorial Prayer Garden in the completely re-landscaped cloister accommodates the columbaria and provides a secure area with the installation of a wrought iron fence in the outer arches of the colonnade. Two gates, open in normal operating hours or for special events, are closed and locked at other times. The locked gates can be opened from the inside in an emergency. Protected on three sides by the church building, the garden gives some protection from adverse weather for inurnment services and other small worship services. Benches will offer a place to sit in solitude, to visit, relax, reflect, or comfort loved ones. Inurnment fees over and above the cost of construction will endow ongoing maintenance and care of the columbaria and garden.
Click on the above buttons to find our policies, application form, and niche inscription form. Once you have filled out the Application Form and Niche Inscription Form, you can email it to us.