St. Paul s Episcopal Church Founded 1838 Ivy Virginia P. O. Box 37 Ivy, VA 22945-0037 Telephone: (434) 979-6354 Email: office@stpaulsivy.org
1. THE GRAVEYARD COMMITTEE (A) The full authority for the management, operation, and maintenance of the graveyard at St. Paul s Church, Ivy shall reside in the Graveyard Committee. The Graveyard Committee shall be a standing committee of the Parish and shall report directly to the Vestry. (B) The Graveyard Committee shall be composed of a Chairman, a Vice Chairman, a Secretary and not less than four other members appointed by the Chairman and approved by the Vestry for a term of one year, all of whom shall be communicants of the church in good standing. In addition, the Rector, Senior Warden and Treasurer shall be ex-officio members of the Committee. (C) The Graveyard Committee shall meet at least two times a year and at such other times as the Chairman or Vice Chairman shall call a meeting. (D) Notice of the meeting shall be given to each member at least five days before the meeting. A quorum of the Committee for a meeting shall consist of at least three members. Any action of the Committee may be appealed to the Vestry. (E) The Chairman, shall preside at all the meetings of the Committee, shall be the principal executive officer of the Committee, and shall act as Superintendent of the Graveyard. In the absence of the Chairman the Vice Chairman shall assume all the duties of the Chairman. 2. DUTIES OF THE COMMITTEE (A) The Committee shall conduct all business of the Graveyard, including planning, budgeting, sale of interment rights, and maintenance of the graveyard. (B) Implementing and enforcing the provision of the regulations. (C) Sale of interment rights. (D) Make expenditures for the benefit of the graveyard. (E) Maintain the plats of the graveyard, and accurate records of the sales and owners of the interment rights. (F) Make recommendations to the Vestry for amendments to these regulations. (G) Prepare an annual report to the Vestry for the congregation. (H) Prepare an annual budget for the Graveyard Committee and present the same to the Vestry. 3. THE GRAVEYARD (A) The graveyard as it presently exists consists of four contiguous sections: Section One The old original part. Each lot in this section is large enough for eight gravesites. Section Two This is an extension of the original Section One. In this section the optimum number of gravesites on each lot is six, but most lots could accommodate eight. Section Three This section is on the land acquired from the Lewis family in 1976. The lots in this section are 14 feet, 5 inches by 18 feet and are designed for six gravesites. Section Four This section is also on land acquired from the Lewis family, and adjoins Section Three. There are gravesites remaining in this section. (B) A detailed plat of the graveyard showing the location of all lots has been prepared and is available for examination in the office of the church secretary. A copy of this plat is kept by the Chairman of the Graveyard Committee. All information pertaining to the plat and the graveyard is kept in the church office computer and in the graveyard record book in the church office. (C) Each lot on the plat is divided into either six or eight gravesites and these gravesites are designated a, b, c, d, e, f, g, and h. The sale of each burial rite is to be specifically designated by lot number and gravesite letter. (D) No lots or gravesites can be purchase. Only the right of burial can be purchased, and this right of burial can only be transferred by the Vestry. (E) The site of every burial right sold must have direct access to a platted walkway.
4. BURIAL RITES (A) The right to purchase burial rights in the graveyard shall only be available to communicants of St. Paul s Church, Ivy, in good standing. Notwithstanding the above, the right to purchase burial rights may be granted to a person not a communicant of St. Paul s Church, Ivy, upon recommendation of the Graveyard Committee and approval of a majority of the Vestry. When time is of the essence, this approval may be made by the Rector, Senior Warden, or Chairman of the Graveyard. (B) The right of burial shall be limited to the purchaser, or members of the purchaser s family. All rights not used within 75 years of the date of purchase shall revert to the church, and all rights of the purchaser and the family of the purchaser shall terminate. If burial rights are not to be used by the purchaser or the family of the purchaser the reconveyance of the rights to the church is encouraged. Burial rights may not be assigned by the purchaser to persons not a member of the family of the purchaser without the prior written consent of the Graveyard Committee. (C) The cost of a burial right shall be determined from time to time by the Vestry of the Church, and this cost shall include the cost of corner stone markers to be installed by the Graveyard Committee in order to delineate the boundaries of the gravesite for the benefit of the purchaser of the burial right. The cost shall be available at the Church Office. (D) No right of burial shall be exercised until the church has received the full purchase price for said burial. 5. INTERMENTS (A) All interments in a casket shall be made under the supervision of a licensed funeral director and in accordance with all applicable regulatory requirements. Such licensed funeral director shall be responsible to assure that the grave is properly filled, firmly packed, and level with grade. The Committee reserves the right within 30 days of the burial to require that any discrepancies be promptly corrected. (B) Only one casket may be interred in each gravesite, and the casket must be enclosed in an outer receptacle (vault or concrete box). The cremated remains of no more than 4 persons may be interred in one gravesite, but additional memorial markers may be installed flush with the ground. (C) Only human remains may be interred in the graveyard. (D) There shall be no interment without the prior approval of the Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Committee or the Rector. Before any interment the funeral home and/or family must give the church office complete information regarding the deceased and ownership of the burial right. 6. MARKERS (A) All interments are required to have permanent markers erected or installed within six months after burial. The Committee before erection must approve markers, stones, or monuments of any type. The Committee reserves the right to prohibit the erection of any marker, stone, or monument that it deems inappropriate in material, design, or workmanship. Mausoleums are not permitted. All charges for interments and erection of markers, stones, or monuments shall be the sole responsibility of the owner of the burial right. (B) All monuments, headstones, cornerstones, memorials, or other types of markers are the full responsibility of the heirs of the deceased for care and maintenance. Footstones are not permitted. If any such marker becomes unsafe, the committee will notify the heirs of the deceased for repair or removal, and the committee reserves the right to repair or remove such marker at the heir s expense. (C) All monuments, headstones, memorials, and all other types of markers shall be installed with a turf level, frost proof cement border or flange extending at least four inches outside of the marker
and not less than six inches deep in the ground so as to prevent the roots of grass and other vegetation from growing against the marker. (D) Enclosures of lots with copings, or railings, shrubbery, or ditches will not be permitted. Items existing prior to the adoption of these regulations may be permitted to remain, but may not be enlarged or changed in any manner. Grave mounds are not permitted, and all gravesites must be maintained at the established grade. (E) No benches or other such items shall be placed in the graveyard without the prior approval of the Committee. Such objects must be given to the Church and become Church property, subject to relocation by the Committee. A record of the gift and intended use and location desired by the donor will be recorded in the church files, but such intent and location shall not be binding on the Committee. (F) No planting or other installation on a gravesite shall be permitted to overhang an adjoining gravesite of different ownership, and the Committee shall have the authority to enter upon any gravesite to remove objectionable objects, structures, or plants that may have been placed there contrary to these rules. 7. CARE AND MAINTENANCE OF THE GRAVEYARD (A) The Vestry of the Church assumes the responsibility for the general care of the graveyard, along with the care of other grounds of St. Paul s Church, Ivy. The Graveyard Committee will assist and coordinate with the vestry in this responsibility. (B) The Vestry and the Committee make no commitment to gravesite owners as to standards of grounds and area maintenance with the graveyard. The gravesite owners may cut grass, rake leaves, pull weeds and otherwise maintain their gravesites subject to the approval of, or restriction by, the Committee. (C) Natural flowers and potted plants are strongly encouraged. Flowers, including funeral designs, will be removed in a timely manner. Artificial plants and flowers may be placed at gravesites, but they may be removed after fourteen days display, except Christmas decoration, which may be displayed from December 1 through Twelfth Night (January 6). All flowers, real or artificial, will be removed prior to all mowing and grass cutting. (D) Glass or other breakable containers are not permitted in the interest of safety. Any containers not collected in thirty days will be disposed of at the discretion of the Committee, which in no way assumes responsibility for such items regardless of value. (E) Flowers may be planted on gravesites, but larger plants, bushes, shrubbery and trees may be planted on gravesites only with the approval of the Committee. Their appearance may be controlled by the Committee in order to limit undesirable screens or overhang or other encroachment into walkways or other gravesites. They may be subsequently removed at the discretion of the Committee. The Committee may accept in-memoriam donations of trees to be approved, planted, and maintained by the Committee. (F) The Committee may from time to time lay out and alter walkways as it may deem necessary and appropriate, so long as it does not affect the rights of the owner of a gravesite. 8. LIABILITY (A) The Committee shall take reasonable precaution to protect burial right owners within the graveyard from loss or damage. However, the Committee and the Vestry expressly disclaim all responsibility and shall be relieved from any liability for theft damage from causes beyond their control, and especially from damage caused by the elements, acts of God, common enemy, thieves, vandals, explosions, accidents, invasion, insurrection, riots, or any military or civil authority, whether the damage be direct or indirect.
9. GRAVEYARD FUNDS (A) Graveyard funds are obtained from gifts to the graveyard fund, the sale of burial rights, and income from the funds. Most of these funds have been given with the understanding that the funds will be held to provide perpetual maintenance for the graveyard, and must be kept separate from other funds of the Church. The care and custody of these funds shall be with the Treasurer of the Church. (B) The Committee shall be kept advised at all times of the principal and income of the graveyard fund. The Committee shall make expenditures for the care and improvements to the graveyard, being always mindful of the funds available, in order to insure the perpetual care of the graveyard. (C) The Committee shall at all times encourage contributions to the graveyard fund.