I found my niche at Belmont UMC
by Keith C. Roberts

As a third generation Belmont UMC member, I have attended here since I was carried into the church as an infant. This is my church home as it is for many of you. Naturally, when I began thinking of where I wanted my earthly remains to rest, my interest was always Belmont UMC. Now that it is a choice we have, I have a niche for my cremains in the beautiful Columbarium next to our chapel.

The cost of cremation is so favorable compared to a cemetery or mortuary internment that I’ve chosen it and paid the reasonable price for a niche. This gives me the opportunity to be forever at home with my Belmont family in the church we have supported and benefitted from for a lifetime.

When my days are done and my cremains are returned from Vanderbilt School of Medicine after my anatomical whole-body donation is complete, I will rest in peace knowing that after helping others one last time I will finally rest with my friends at Belmont. My family, if they choose, will be able to visit my niche in a quiet and peaceful setting replete with a beautiful stained-glass window generously donated by the family of Coyle and Tina Hazelwood. I hope that you will consider this choice for you and your loved ones.

For more information about our columbarium, click here.

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Why Belmont UMC’s columbarium is the right choice for us

by Bart Perkey

When my mother passed away in 1996, Christy and I purchased casket crypts at a mausoleum here in Nashville. We realized the importance of planning ahead and, at the time, cremation was not an option we considered.
Recently, when we read that our church was developing a beautiful indoor columbarium behind the chapel, we learned more about the advantages of cremation and decided to purchase a two person niche. For the entire cost of $3,000 ($1,500 each) we now have an attractive and convenient resting place for our ashes. Through further research, we identified a nearby crematorium that will handle everything for about $1,200 each.

The advantages of the columbarium are numerous, but convenience and cost are chief considerations for us. We plan to have memorial services at our church. Afterward, family and friends can proceed together to the columbarium for the interment of the ashes. It also brings us comfort to know that our ashes reside at our church, a place that has brought us so much joy over the years.

If you think this is an option that might work for you, please contact Mark Hagewood (615-383-0832, ext. 216 or mark@belmontumc.org).

For more information about our columbarium, click here.

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Why we are purchasing columbarium niches

by Judy Ullrich

There are a number of reasons that my husband, Lou, and I felt comfortable and excited about the prospect of using Belmont UMC’s new columbarium as our final resting place.

Lou is from Texas and has a number of family members buried in a cemetery in San Antonio. I am from Nashville and have a number of family members buried in Woodlawn Cemetery here so choosing a final resting place was somewhat challenging.

I have been coming to Belmont since I was born in 1951, joined the church with my 5th grade class in 1961, and have been a member ever since. Lou chose to join Belmont several years ago. Belmont means a lot to both of us and so we thought that a cremation and interment at the church was a perfect solution to choosing a final resting place.

We have seen the construction that has begun on the columbarium and are pleased that it is located just outside the chapel, especially since we regularly (until COVID hit anyway!) attend the early Communion service in the chapel on Sundays.

We feel the cost is very reasonable—especially compared to the cost of burial at a cemetery such as Woodlawn. We are proud and happy to be one of the first members of Belmont to elect to be the licensees of a niche in the columbarium. I would recommend it to any member. It gives me great peace of mind knowing that our final resting place is secure and in a place that has meant so much to me my entire life.

For information regarding purchase, click here.