FROM THE VICARAGE STUDY

My Dear People,

During last month it was discovered that an inscribed urn for flowers had been placed by a relative on the wrong grave in our churchyard. This came about because it was done without any direction or authority from me. Because, too, the mistake had bearing on a current burial considerable trouble and distress to other people resulted. I thought it right, therefore, to take this opportunity to say a word about the churchyard and also to remind you of one or two of the regulations governing its administration and maintenance.

First, let us get our thinking straight about its real character, and I quote now from the Churchyards Handbook, published by the Church Information Office:

"Our first concern must be to preserve the essential nature of a churchyard, as contrasted with a cemetery. It is not merely a collection of individual graves. It is centred upon the church, which alone gives meaning to Christian burial; and it must be planned as a whole .... it is the family resting-place, centred on the House of God, where the Church on earth joins with the Church in heaven in worship and praise and adoration."

There follows from this the need for care over the size and type of monuments if we wish them to blend with its local character and if the churchyard is to be properly maintained. Therefore no tombstone or memorial of any kind may be placed there without permission and in the first instance application for this permission should be made to me as Incumbent. It may not be generally realised that the strict right of a parishioner in the churchyard is simply the right to burial. The erection of a tombstone or monument over a grave, though now customary, remains a privilege. The placing of curbs is an extension of this privilege and is not permitted in some dioceses; in future years they become the main obstacle to a tidy churchyard and to its effective maintenance by machine. Nothing looks neater than level grass against a good headstone. I would also suggest that the memory of a loved one is far more likely to remain fresh through a memorial gift of practical use to the parish church or to some institution or organisation closely linked with the departed one's past life than through an elaborate grave memorial.

I would add only that the regulations touched upon above are included in the directions of the Commissary General of this Diocese and are framed solely to preserve the essential character and beauty of our parish churchyards. I can assure you that I will always do my best to administer them with care and sympathy.

Your sincere friend and Vicar,

JOHN GREEN.