COLUMBARIUM RULES AND REGULATIONS
Trinity Episcopal Church
Lumberton, North Carolina
Trinity Church Columbarium is a subordinate activity of Trinity Episcopal Church (hereinafter referred to as “Church”) and is under the control of the Vestry of the Church (hereinafter referred to as “Vestry”). The Vestry has formulated these rules regulations for the purchase, use and management of the columbarium as set forth herein. These rules and regulations contain the terms and conditions of the agreement between the Church and anyone entitled to use any space in or portion of the columbarium.
A. General Powers:
The Columbarium Committee shall manage the use and maintenance of the columbarium for the Vestry and in accord with the rules and regulations set forth herein. Any question concerning the interpretation of these columbarium rules and regulations shall be decided by the Vestry, which has the custody and control of the columbarium.
B. Membership:
The Columbarium Committee will consist of five (5) members of the Church. The elected Junior Warden of the Church shall be a member and serve as Chair of the Committee as long as he/she remains Junior Warden. The four (4) remaining members shall be appointed by the Rector in accord with these rules / regulations. In the absence of a Rector, the Senior Warden shall make appointments. The committee members will select one of its members to be the Vice-Chair / Clerk of the committee. All committee members except the Junior Warden shall serve until replaced by (1) the Rector, or (2) a vote of the Vestry. Upon the resignation, death, disability or transfer from the parish, a member shall be replaced by appointment.
C. Meetings:
The committee shall meet at least once annually and at such other times as may be required to carry out the functions of the committee. Meetings will be held at the Church unless a majority of the committee agrees on an alternative location. Three members shall constitute a quorum.
D. Duties of Committee Officers:
1. The Chair shall:
a. Preside at all committee meetings.
b. Be responsible for and manage the affairs of the columbarium on a day to day basis between meetings of the committee, subject to the control and approval of the committee as a whole.
2. The Vice-Chair/Clerk shall:
b. Perform all the duties of the Chair in the Chair’s;
a. Record the minutes of all committee meetings;
b. Maintain files and records of all purchases of the right to use space in the columbarium;
c. Record and maintain data on the identity and specific location of ashes deposited in or removed from the columbarium.
3. The committee officers may delegate certain responsibilities to other committee members, as they deem appropriate.
E. Compensation:
Members of the committee are not entitled to any compensation, direct or indirect, for matters relating to the use and operation of the columbarium.
F Annual Report:
The Chair, with assistance and approval of the committee as a whole, shall prepare and present an annual report to the membership of the Church at the annual parish meeting. The report will contain a summary of the significant activity and financial status of the columbarium.
G. Contracts:
One of the committee officers is authorized to sign the Agreement for the purchase of a right to use space in the columbarium after the committee has approved the application for purchase. All other authority to approve or sign contracts remains with the Vestry.
SECTION 111 – TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF PURCHASE
A. Applications:
Every person desiring to use space in the columbarium shall submit a written application to the committee on a form provided. The form will request information necessary for the committee to act upon the application. The applicant will be given a copy of these rules and regulations when the form is requested.
B Availability:
The right to use space is available for purchase by members of the
Church and their immediate family members. The term “immediate family members” includes the family of a church member who is the spouse, a child, or a parent of the church member. Any other person whose ashes are to be interred in the columbarium must be specifically approved by a majority vote of the committee and a majority vote of the Vestry. The Vestry reserves the right to approve or disapprove any application for interment of ashes in the columbarium regardless of the status of the applicant.
C. Purchase of Space:
1. Once an application has been approved by the columbarium committee and the Vestry and after full payment of the fee for interment, a written agreement will be executed on a form approved by the committee and the Vestry. The committee will then assign a space to the applicant and the assignment will be noted on the committee’s records.
2. The written agreement shall be executed in duplicate, with the original for the Church and the copy for the applicant. The Church will retain the original agreement and application as a part of the permanent record of each transaction. The agreements will be numbered and filed serially.
3. All purchasers and their successors in interest shall be subject to these rules and regulations as they exist at the time of purchase and as the Vestry may amend them from time to time in the future. The Vestry shall be the sole body to determine any questions that may arise concerning the columbarium or the terms and conditions of these rules and regulations or anything not covered herein.
4. Any right accruing to the purchaser under the agreement may not be transferred without the consent of the Vestry, whether such transfer is direct by the owner, by devise, inheritance or otherwise. In the event the Vestry does not approve such transfer, the owner may have the space revert to the church by signing a document so providing. In that event the owner will receive a refund of sixty percent ( 60% ) of the initial purchase price with no accrued interest.
5. If it is determined after the purchase that the space is no longer needed, the purchaser or his/her successor in interest may request a refund of sixty percent ( 60% ) of the initial purchase price with no accrued interest.
6. It is the responsibility of the purchaser or the purchaser’s successor in interest to notify the Church of changes of address or telephone numbers for contact by Church when a need arises. The address on file with the Church shall be the official address of the purchaser or successor in interest and information mailed to that address shall be deemed sufficient delivery and binding on all parties involved.
D. Payment:
1. Payment for the use of space in the columbarium, whether for interment or scattering, shall be in such amount and in such manner as may be determined, from time to time, by the Vestry.
2. No real property right or interest is created in a purchaser or his/her successor in interest by the purchase of a space in the columbarium. Payment only relates to the use of space.
3. The purchase price includes:
a. Use of one double niche in the columbarium wall or use of common space for the scattering of ashes as specified in the agreement.
a. Opening and closing of the space for interment.
b. Maintenance of the columbarium area.
4. The Church has and accepts no responsibility for the cost or expense for urns, other items or for services relating to interment.
5. The payment for the use of space must be paid in full before the agreement is executed, the space assigned or the space used.
E. Change in Designee:
The purchaser or any person succeeding in interest who is recognized and accepted by the Church as succeeding in interest may change the designee only if a written request to change the designee is presented to and approved by a majority of the members of the Vestry.
F. Limitation of Liability:
The payment by a purchaser for use of a columbarium space must be made without any reservations, restrictions or conditions and the funds paid may be used by the Vestry for any lawful purpose. Although it is the intent of the Church to exercise reasonable care in the maintenance of the columbarium, neither the Church nor any person acting for Church assumes any responsibility for or shall have any legal liability for the preservation, loss of or damage to the columbarium, any urn placed therein or the ashes of any person placed therein, whether interred or scattered, from Acts of God, vandalism, theft or any other casualty or event.
G. Modification of Columbarium Rules and Regulations:
Any modification, amendment or changes in these rules and regulations as hereinafter provided shall be binding on the purchaser, designee, and any person succeeding to the interest of a purchaser or designee as of the date of such modification amendment or change.
H. Requests:
Any request relating to the columbarium shall be made in writing to the Columbarium Committee.
I. Termination of Rights under the Agreement:
In the event an urn or receptacle containing ashes is placed in a space in the columbarium and is later removed, or in the event the ashes of an approved designee are not interred in the space identified in the purchase agreement within one (1) year after the death of the original purchaser, the original designee, or the last surviving child of such purchaser or designee, which ever last occurs, then all rights to a space purchased or obtained shall be forfeited and terminated and the space shall revert to the Church.
J. Use of Space:
At the time of application and agreement the purchaser will indicate whether us of space is desired for scattering of ashes or for interment of ashes in the wall of the columbarium.
SECTION IV – TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR USE
A. Interment:
1. All ashes interred in the wall of the columbarium must be in urns that will fit into the size of the space purchased. All urns that will fit into the size of the space purchased. All urns shall be subject to the control of the Vestry with respect to design, type, shape, size and character. The cost of the urn shall not be borne by the Church but, upon request, the Church will provide a container for ashes without charge.
2. No object of any description shall be placed in a space in the wall of the columbarium except an urn or approved receptacle containing ashes.
3. Ashes to be scattered shall be brought to the columbarium in a container appropriate for that purpose.
4. Scattered ashes shall be scattered in the area of the columbarium designated for that purpose that has been approved by the Vestry.
B. Markers:
1. All markers or other designations of spaces in the columbarium, including the material, design, construction, type, size, shape and character as well as all lettering, legends or other marking(s) thereon shall be subject to the control of the Vestry. The cost of any marker shall be borne by the purchaser, designee or successor in interest and must be coordinated through the Columbarium Committee. The cost of the marker must also include the cost of installation.
2. Inscriptions or letterings on the marker shall be limited to the name(s) of the deceased together with the years of birth and death. The first line of the inscription shall be reserved for the surname, the second line shall be reserved for the deceased person(s) given name, initials, or a combination thereof; and the third line for years of birth and death. If the length of the name(s) exceeds the capacity of the line, the letter size shall be reduced to accommodate the name(s) on the line (the name(s) may not exceed one line as specified above). The letter and number sizes shall also be reduced in proportion to ensure that the size is the same on all lines. The use of any seals, professional designations or similar inscriptions is expressly prohibited.
Services:
1. No special service or other appropriate religious observance shall be required upon the interment of ashes.
3. When the services of a member of the clergy are desired in connection with the interment of ashes in the columbarium, it is expected that a Rector of an Episcopal Church will officiate if available. If the deceased of the family or the family of the deceased has made known or makes known to the Rector a desire to have another clergyperson participate in the service, then upon approval of the Rector of such participation, an invitation to the other clergy person may be extended. In the absence of a Rector, the Senior Warden of the Church may extend this invitation.
4. The Rector or his substitute shall supervise the placement of ashes in the designated space in the columbarium and shall record the interment on a form provided by the Columbarium Committee showing the name of the deceased, the date and the exact location in the wall of the columbarium. The Vice Chair / Clerk of the committee shall use this information to record as a permanent record along with the application and the agreement.
Grounds:
No flowers, plants or other decorations shall be placed in the columbarium area except by the direction of the Columbarium Committee. The committee will preserve and maintain the architectural and landscape design embodied in the columbarium. In no case shall flowers, flags or emblems, real or artificial, be allowed.
SECTION V – COLUMBARIUM FUND
A. Establishment of Fund:
There is an established Columbarium Fund that will be administered by the Treasurer of the Church under the direction of the Vestry.
B. Administration of Fund:
All monies received on account of the columbarium shall be deposited in a special account as directed by the Vestry. Withdrawals may be made in a proper case by check signed by persons authorized to do so by the Vestry. The Treasurer of the Church shall maintain separate records of account for the columbarium fund, which shall be subject to audit and review in the same manner as other financial records of the Church. The Treasurer shall make periodic financial reports to the Vestry at least annually and whenever requested by the Vestry.
C. Purpose of the Fund:
It is intended that only the income from the Columbarium Fund is to be used for the perpetual care, administration and maintenance of the columbarium and the columbarium garden at the direction of the Vestry. The principal of the Columbarium Fund shall at all times remain intact unless a two-thirds vote of all members of the Vestry determine that it is necessary to invade the principal for the protection or repair of the columbarium or its area and facilities.
SECTION VI – REMOVAL OF ASHES
A. Policy:
No urn containing ashes shall be removed from a space except by and with the prior written consent of the Vestry and the Columbarium Committee. No right whatsoever shall exist in the heirs-at-law of the purchaser, designee or successor in interest to have any ashes removed.
B. Temporary Removal:
In the event it is necessary to temporarily remove an urn or ashes for any purpose, the Rector, or in the absence of a Rector, the Senior Warden, shall have the sole and exclusive responsibility and control of the safekeeping of the removed urn or ashes until the same is replaced in an appropriate space. Any temporary removal shall be recorded in the columbarium records by the Clerk.
C. Relocation:
If, in the judgment of the Vestry, it shall be deemed necessary at any time to change the location of the columbarium or to discontinue its use, or any part thereof, the Vestry shall have the urns and ashes removed from any spaces affected by such change or discontinuance and placed in another suitable space or location in the columbarium or to another appropriate place or location as the Vestry, in its sole discretion, may determine. A reasonable attempt will be made to communicate to the family of any relocation.
SECTION VII - AMENDMENTS
The Vestry has the right to change, modify, amend or repeal these Columbarium Rules and Regulations by a vote of not less than a two- thirds majority of all members of the Vestry. The Columbarium Committee may, upon any majority vote, propose changes in these Rules & Regulations to the Vestry. Any amendment or proposed change by the Columbarium Committee must be proposed at a committee meeting at least one month prior to the date it is voted upon by the Committee.