A Place of Peace and Remembrance
“For all the saints who from their labors rest, who Thee by faith before the world confessed.”
We believe that Potomac Presbyterian Church can and should play a continuing role in the life and death of our members. In 1991 we established our Memorial Garden for those in our congregation who want a nearby final resting place to honor and memorialize loved ones. An expansion was completed in 2014.
Scripture affirms the eternal promise that nothing, in life or in death, can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Cremated remains are preserved in niches located in the garden’s walls. A Commemorative Plaque, located on the church’s outside sanctuary wall, provides an opportunity to remember family members not interred. Our Memorial Garden is a place of beauty, tranquility and peace for all who visit, and provides comfort for the family and friends of those interred or those memorialized on the Commemorative Plaque.
What church members receive.
Niches for Four Urns
The Garden offers church members niches for up to four urns.
Name & Date Plates
Individual name and date plates mark each niche.
Commemorative Plaque
The opportunity to remember on the Commemorative Plaque family members not interred in the garden.
A place of beauty and peace.
A Memorial Garden Fund includes money from the purchase of niches and name plates on the Commemorative Plaque and any donations for the garden, including landscaping. Donations are tax deductible and always welcome. This fund is separate from the church’s budget and is used for repairs, maintenance, plant purchases and future expansion.
The opening and closing of a niche, and niche name plates, are at cost.
Before You Choose an Urn
A niche space beneath the capstone generally measures 16″ x 13″ x 17″ deep. If you plan to include four urns, please ensure that their dimensions allow all four to fit comfortably within the niche. Additionally, urns should not be made of wood, as the niches may be exposed to extreme temperature and weather changes.
Questions? Email us at [email protected].
Interment & Memorialization
Interment
$5,500 per niche
Once you have submitted a request for a niche, Mary Margaret Smith, Chair of the Memorial Garden Committee, will meet with you to discuss availability and details. Please review the Covenant below and download and return the Certificate of Privilege to Inter.
Payment may be made by check or online (ACH and credit card payments are accepted online). Checks can be mailed to Potomac Presbyterian Church, PO Box 59869, Potomac, Maryland 20854. Please include ‘Memorial Garden/Interment’ in the memo field.
Memorialization
$500 name plate
A Commemorative Plaque name plate is $500. Please download and return the Certificate of Privilege to Memorialization.
Payment may be made by check or online (ACH and credit card payments are accepted online). Checks can be mailed to Potomac Presbyterian Church, PO Box 59869, Potomac, Maryland 20854. Please include ‘Memorial Garden/Interment’ in the memo field.
Plant Selection Criteria
- Respect plant requirements for sunlight, moisture, soil pH, drainage.
- Respect principles of landscape design for form, repetition, balance, texture, color.
- Selectively repeat and complement plants in the older and newer gardens, to make the garden one unified whole.
- Favor plants compatible with the Williamsburg/colonial character of the church building.
- Favor plants that provide four-season interest.
- Favor evergreen plants for the Gary Road/east side to suppress traffic sound and sights, and deciduous plants for the patio/west side, so as to invite visiting.
- Select plants that flower in the cool colors of the color spectrum.
- Select plants that are safe and aid safe passage.
- Select shallow-rooted ground covers under the Cherry Bark Oak to protect its root system from mowing and erosion.
- Only a few native plants could be used due to competing considerations, although they are desirable because of their superior benefit to microbes, wildlife and the environment.
- Respect Montgomery County guideline, Allowable Greenspace Plantings, Standard No. MC-704.01 for plants along the Gary Road boundary.