What we want to do in Cheddar Baptist Church graveyard
Maintenance in any graveyard is not easy. It requires time and it needs people who are prepared to find that time and commit it on a regular (and unpaid) basis.
Over the years the graveyard at Cheddar Baptist Church has struggled to find people who not only have the time, but the energy to keep it looking simply neat and tidy. The grass has needed regular cutting and pushing a hefty mower around graves is no easy task.
The graveyard itself offers huge potential for being exactly what it should be. A place of rest, not just for those who have departed but for those who simply want to remember their loved ones and have a sense of peace. As a church, we have discussed how we can realise that potential and create an environment that reflects the wonder of God’s goodness. It was felt that a wild flower garden would be a realistic and meaningful solution and in 2015 we started to plant trees, bulbs and shrubs to put in place the basic structure.
The problem we have struggled to overcome is the grass. It is not meadow grass and it does not allow wild flowers to germinate, let alone flourish. So for our work to continue we do need to get back to bare earth and create conditions that will allow us to sow wild flower seeds in Spring.
In the very short term this will mean that the graveyard will look a bit ‘bare’ as the grass goes, but by Summer (with God’s help) it will be a place of joy and delight for us all. No graves will be disturbed as the work is undertaken and access to graves will not be compromised in any way.