From the beginning — Nile Township

Cemetery Policies

Our Lady of the Lake Catholic Cemetery

Big Lake, Minnesota Right of Burial (Purchase of Lots)

Costs Interments Markers Perpetual Care/Decorations General Information

May 2005

Policies

Our Lady of the Lake Catholic Cemetery Big Lake, Minnesota

The word "cemetery" is derived from a Greek word meaning "sleeping chamber"; an appropriate way to describe the final resting place of departed members of the Catholic Christian Community who profess confident belief in the resurrection. From ancient times, bodies placed in Christian cemeteries have all been situated so that they face the east – the direction of the "rising" sun.

May the souls of all the faithful departed rest in the peace of the Risen Lord. Right of Burial (lot) purchase Our Lady of the Lake Cemetery is intended for the burial of Catholic Christians and their families. No lot shall be purchased for any other purpose than for the burial of human dead and the placement of appropriate markers. The purchaser shall expressly agree in the certificate conveying the lot that her/his rights are subject to such reasonable rules and regulations as the Cemetery Board of Our Lady of the Lake Parish shall adopt. No right-of-burial (lot) can be re-sold, except back to Our Lady of the Lake, at the original purchase price. The purchaser must have been a member of Our Lady of the Lake for at least one (1) year. Exceptions will be granted at the discretion of the Cemetery Board of Directors. Purchasers of lots will be issued a receipt for the "right-to-burial", not the purchase of the lot.

Costs Lots shall cost $300 for parish members and $800 for non-parish members. Upon full payment, Our Lady of the Lake will issue to the purchaser a certificate for right of burial to the appropriate lot(s). Specialized lots for cremated remains are available in a special section of the cemetery; same rates as in (1) above apply. A price list of cemetery fees is available.

Interments No interment of two or more bodies shall be made in one full grave except: A parent and a child may be buried in one full grave; Two infants may be buried in one full grave; One body and one urn of cremated remains (ashes) may be buried in one full grave; Two urns of cremated remains (ashes) may be buried in one full grave. All burials must be made in outside containers (vaults) made of natural stone, or of metal, or of reinforced concrete. Cremated remains (ashes) must be placed in an approved burial container and a vault to preserve the respect of the body of the deceased. Our Lady of the Lake shall receive at least 48 hours notice prior to any interment. All graves must be marked by a member of the Cemetery Board before any digging begins. Only persons designated by the Cemetery Board shall make interments. A fee of $100 shall be charged for preparation of the gravesite for cremated remains (an urn). Smaller lots in a special section of the cemetery are available for the burial of cremated remains. No interment may be made unless all ordinances, rules, and regulations regarding interments have been complied with, all necessary permits have been obtained, and arrangements for the payment of any indebtedness due the cemetery have been made. The Cemetery Board reserves the right to prior approval of all services conducted in Our Lady of the Lake Cemetery. There are special sections designated in the cemetery for infant burials and for the burial cremated remains:

*Section A – Cremation lots *Section C – Infant lots 81 A/B thru 100 A/B Markers No marker shall be set without first informing the Cemetery Board. The Cemetery Board will be responsible to supervise the placement of all markers. There is a fee of $40 for marking (staking) a marker; this fee is payable to individual(s) staking out the marker. All markers are to be set as soon as feasible within a year of burial. All markers shall be set at grade level in a border of concrete. A border of three inches is required. No grave marker may be constructed of any artificial material. The symbols used on grave markers should be Christian in nature. All markers shall be set so that they are facing east. Only one marker (headstone) is to be used for each gravesite. Footstones are not permitted.

Perpetual Care/Decorations

The general care of the lots in the cemetery is assumed by Our Lady of the Lake and includes the cutting of grass at reasonable intervals, the raking and cleaning of the grounds and the general preservation of the walks, roadways, and boundaries of the cemetery. The general care assumed by Our Lady of the Lake shall not include the maintenance, repair, or replacement of any marker or memorial placed upon burial sites, nor any work necessitated by the placement of flowers or decorations. It shall be the responsibility of the survivors of the deceased to seed the grave with grass seed within three months of the burial or as soon as weather permits. Damaged decorations will not be allowed to remain on lots after June 15 in any year.

General Information

Cemetery management shall be vested in the Cemetery Board of Directors in accord with the policies adopted and approved by the Parish Council of Our Lady of the Lake Catholic Church. The policies shall be reviewed each year. The management reserves the right to prohibit and prevent assemblages within the cemetery which it deems improper or inappropriate. No signs, notices or advertising of any kind shall be permitted within the cemtery; neither shall any peddling or soliciting of any kind be permitted within the cemetery. All lot owners and their representatives shall respect and observe the rights and interests of adjoining lot owners. "Entitlement of Mistake Rule". The Cemetery Board reserves the right to correct a mistake.

Submitted by the Cemetery Board of Our Lady of the Lake Catholic Church: William Kearin Merwin (PeeWee) Metzger Ernie Kroll, chairperson Deb Bell Dave Quinn Gayle Nadeau, parish Council liaison Adopted by the Parish Council April 21, 2005

These policies were originally adopted by the Parish Council September 17, 1996. They were subsequently revised May 22, 1997; September 1, 1999; January 25, 2000; November 15, 2001; January 1, 2002; November 21, 2002; and April 21, 2005.