St. John Lutheran Church in Dublin to build on-site cemetery

David Rees
·2 min read
St. John Lutheran Church in Dublin to build on-site cemetery

DUBLIN, Ohio (WCMH) — A more than 120-year-old church in Dublin has announced plans to further its “cradle to grave” ministry by converting a portion of its property into a cemetery.

St. John Lutheran Church at 6135 Rings Rd. in Dublin is developing a memorial garden and cemetery across six acres, according to a proposal submitted to the Dublin Planning and Zoning Commission. The site would offer a variety of burial options, providing care for congregants “from the waters of baptism until they are ultimately laid to rest.”

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“Our objective is to develop and preserve, as much as possible, the historic and open pastural look and feel of this area while also providing various burial options as we continue our ‘cradle to grave’ ministry,” St. John’s proposal states.

<em>St. John Lutheran Church at 6135 Rings Rd. in Dublin is developing a memorial garden and cemetery across six acres. (Courtesy Photo/Dublin Planning and Zoning Commission)</em>
St. John Lutheran Church at 6135 Rings Rd. in Dublin is developing a memorial garden and cemetery across six acres. (Courtesy Photo/Dublin Planning and Zoning Commission)

St. John’s has called Rings Road home for more than 123 years, with the congregation’s original church built in 1855 located about a mile north on Avery Road. St. John said an on-site cemetery is needed given the original church’s cemetery has no room for expansion.

The site would not only be developed in the traditional cemetery style, with multiple lines of headstones, but also “enhance the existing environment” with columbarium and cremation services, flush plots with memorial trees and scatter gardens. Benches and pedestrian paths would snake throughout the site.

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All headstones would be limited to similar colors and sizes to maintain a unified look throughout the site, the proposal states. A small structure connected to a memorial area for providing space for family gatherings rounds out the church’s submittal to the planning commission.

“Many of our congregants have a rich, active, and full history with this church and especially the Dublin area,” St. John’s said. “This is home for us now and when our time comes to depart from this life.”

Dublin’s planning and zoning commission will need to review the proposal and approve a rezoning of the church’s six acres before construction can begin.

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