HomeMy WebLinkAbout05/01/2003 - Regular Minutes - Cemetery Advisory Committee
City of College Station
Cemetery Committee
Thursday, May 1, 2003
Central Park Conference Room
10:00 a.m.
Staff Present:
Ross Albrecht, Forestry Superintendent; Ann Marie Hazlett, Parks
Secretary.
Members Present:
Katherine Edwards, Chairman; David Chester; Sarah Adams;
Mary Lind Bryan; Neal Nutall, Ed Burns, Joe Wallace.
1.Call to order:
The meeting was called to order at 10:08 a.m.
2.Hear Visitors:
Rabbi Peter Tarlow was present at the meeting. He will be speaking
on item #5.
3.Discussion, consideration and possible approval of absentee requests:
There were
no absentee requests.
4.Discussion, consideration and possible approval of March minutes:
Joe W. made
a motion to approve the minutes from March 20, 2003. Neal N. seconded the motion.
All were in favor, and the motion passed unanimously.
5.Presentation, discussion and possible action regarding various religious burial
practices:
Rabbi Peter Tarlow spoke with the committee about the Jewish faith and
their particular burial practices. He began with general statements regarding death.
He described that there are three key elements in death: 1) there is a general religious
perspective; 2) within each religion, you should really speak of “religions” i.e. There
are several sub traditions within each of the various faith groups; and 3) People
become tied to rules and regulations when a death occurs. People do not want
choices they want to be guided by the hand. He also stated that one of the most
important things that can be accomplished regarding any cemetery, is to have workers
in the cemetery that are culturally educated on various religious burial practices.
Regarding Judaism, there are three principles regarding death. 1) The ceremony of
the funeral is not for the person who has passed, it is to heal the people left behind;
2) unlike Christian religions, the key issue in the Jewish faith is not “what will happen
to me after I die?” it is “what did I do today to make the world a better place?” and
3) Judaism is less of a religion of faith/belief as it is a religion of action.
Jews also hold several assumptions regarding death. First, Jews believe that healing
begins the faster you get the person in the ground. Therefore, it is customary for a
person to be buried within 24 hours of their death. Secondly, usually within a city
cemetery, there is a portion that is set aside for Jewish burial grounds. Most Jews
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want to be buried in ground that is fenced off and has been sanctified. Furthermore,
Jews believe that all people are equal in death, so the simplest casket is to be used. In
addition, the law of the state becomes the law of the Jewish faith. For example, if the
state law requires a cement crypt, then that is absorbed into Jewish law.
Mary B. asked Rabbi Tarlow if he felt there was much need in this community to
consider a separate Jewish section in the new cemetery. Rabbi Tarlow replied that
right now in College Station, the great majority of people are young, so there is a
lower death rate then what would be expected in the general population. He added
that since there is no Jewish burial grounds in College Station, people usually do one
of two things: 1) people are making other plans to be shipped some place else; or
2) people go to Bryan because they do have a Jewish section in their city cemetery.
Had there been a College Station alternative for these people, he does not know if
more people would be buried in College Station or not.
Ed B. added that there was a time in College Station only one Jewish family resided
here and there was no need to consider a Jewish section in the cemetery. However,
the area has grown and changed so much demographically, that the number of Jewish
families is unknown. Rabbi Tarlow estimated that there are about 150-250 Jewish
families and approximately 1,500 students, making the total Jewish population in
College Station around 2,000-3,000. He also stated that the City has lost a number of
economic development issues because the lack of Jewish facilities. However, he does
not know if this necessarily impacts the cemetery.
Ed B. brought up several questions regarding embalming, death certificates, and
routing through a funeral home. Rabbi Tarlow answered that in Texas it is not
necessary that a person be embalmed. There must be a certificate of death, and he
tells people to route through a funeral home, but he does not know if that is a law or
not. He suggested that these questions be addressed by a lawyer.
Traditionally in the Jewish faith, the body is washed. In most places, there is a group
of men who take care of the body, watch the body, wash the body, and pray psalms
over the body until it is placed in the ground. However, there is not such a group of
men here in this area. Rabbi Tarlow suggests that families here go through the
funeral homes. He has educated a couple of funeral homes on Jewish practices, and
people seem to be at ease with that. If a person were really orthodox, then they would
not accept those arrangements. They would make arrangements elsewhere.
There are no open caskets in the Jewish world. They also do not bury out of the
synagogue. Burial is either out of the funeral home, or a graveside funeral at the
cemetery. The biggest problem that is faced in this community regarding Jewish
burials is making the cemetery workers understand that they do not have to cover the
mound of dirt and also that Jews want to see the dirt placed on the casket. One of the
key elements in the Jewish faith is to make you realize that there has been a death.
Jews believe that you cannot begin healing if you are in denial. By actually shoveling
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dirt onto the casket and seeing the space filled in, it is a sense of closure for the
family.
Immediately after the funeral, people go back to the home of the bereaved people.
There the family is taken care of. For seven days there is an intensive period of
mourning. Then, for the next 30 days, people go out into the world. They go to
work, grocery store, and do all of the normal daily living activities. Lastly, for the
rest of the year, the prayer for the dead is said every day. At the end of the year,
people go back to the cemetery for an unveiling. Traditionally, family does not visit
the cemetery until the unveiling is done. Another ceremony is performed, and it is
announced that all mourning is over. You are to remember this person, but you are
finished mourning and move on with your life.
Traditionally Jews do not put flowers on graves. Most Jews put a little stone on the
grave to show that they visited. The Jewish concept is not to waste money on the
dead, use it for the living. So instead of buying flowers, Jews plant a tree in memory
of the deceased, give money to a charity, or they find some way of helping others in
the deceased’s name.
Furthermore, there is space in the cemetery set aside in the Jewish section for children
that have died under the age of 30 days. Under Jewish law, those children are buried
but no mourning practices are held.
Rabbi Tarlow touched on some security issues regarding cemeteries. He first
explained the term “dark tourism” as places where death becomes the inspiration for
the visit, i.e.: cemetery visit, site of 9/11, any battlefield, etc. He mentioned that
“dark tourism” is on the rise in this country. There are certain assumptions that
coincide with this: 1) the feeling of “I’m alive, and you’re not”; 2) there are issues of
power; and 3) in most people, it tends to stir a feeling of respect and caring.
However, in some people (although a small percentage) cemeteries become
attractions for the purpose of feeling a rush of power. This can be accomplished by
numerous ways: 1) knocking over stones; 2) cemetery desecration; and 3) digging up
graves and robbing them. Cemeteries provide several opportunities for vandalism
because most cemeteries are not fenced in, not guarded at night, and not lit at night.
Several suggestions were given as to what other cemeteries are doing in order to
minimize vandalism:
?
Walling in of cemeteries.
?
Many use infrared lights/camera with night vision.
?
Have personnel watching camera (Rabbi Tarlow actually recommended
against this because it would be incredibly expensive and the few number of
cemetery desecrations in this community would not warrant that expense).
?
Taping and putting up signs warning that it is being taped would however be a
good alternative.
?
Wide paths throughout the cemetery for a sense of visibility.
?
Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) – this is the use of
landscaping to help prevent hiding places for mischievous criminals.
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6.Discussion, consideration and possible action regarding state statutes addressing
cemetery concerns:
There was no discussion on this item.
7. Discussion of next meeting date and agenda:
The committee will meet on
Thursday, June 5, 2003, in the Central Park Conference Room at 10:00 a.m. Dr. Dave
will be asked to speak to the committee regarding Hinduism.
8. Adjourn:
The meeting was adjourned at 11:30 a.m.
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