You Keep Me Down To Earth

My heart stopped, as the sun shined down on me and the Unitarian Church Graveyard. The wonderful scent of flowers wafted into my nose, as bees and butterflies danced around me. If you are patient you could hear a woodpecker pounding a beautiful beat into a tree with its beak. The warm weather kissed my skin, as I walked beneath trees and the grass brushed my ankles. 

I was expecting to see a uniformed graveyard, but this was so much more. Being that I wasn't the only person at the graveyard, it was nice to see the living appreciate what the dead had to offer. The grass was overgrown, but there were pathways made for you to walk through. I watched as salamanders slithered through the grass and peaked their heads out to tell me hello. 

The church wanted the graveyard to grow on its on they had not abandoned it. The first ministers wife coined the idea believing it was best in its natural state and so the idea stuck. The Unitarian Church residing on 4 Archdale Street was built in 1772. It is the second oldest Unitarian Church in the south and the second oldest in the peninsula. The church practices universalism; meaning they stand on the side of love, justice, and peace. They are firm believers in a diverse faith and spirituality. All religions get practiced in the church because they do not exclude anyone. From Hindu to Christianity, everyone has a home here even if you are of a different race or sexuality.

The next few pictures, are about a few interesting headstones I liked within the graveyard. Although it was hard to choose from, most of these are real beauties. Pictured to the right is a die on socket. This headstone belongs to the first universalist minister of the church named Reverend Samuel Gilman, D. D. He was an author and a clergyman and even graduated from Harvard University. Gilman was born in Gloucester, Massachusetts February 16th 1791 and died in Kingston Massachusetts February 9th, 1858.   

ledger

For the next grave I didn't exactly catch the name of the person who was buried beneath it, but I do know that they were Jewish. For instance, when you look at the picture you can see that there are stones and coins placed onto it. The meaning behind the stones derives from them not being able to deteriorate like how flowers do and the coins are supposed to help the dead pay for passage into the afterlife. 

Tombstone

The next grave belongs to a young girl by the name of Lucinda Madeleine Boyle. She was the daughter of Timothy and Deborah Boyle and the younger sister of Maura . She was born April 11, 2001 and died March 30, 2015. She suffered from lifelong health issues and died at a pediatric facility in Atlanta. It feels very morbid sharing this news with you because she was only a year younger than me. While receiving a tracheostomy she needed for breathing it damaged her aorta which resulted in her death. Lucy was known to have loved math, science, and computer coding. Being only in the 8th grade she was very intelligent for her age. She brought light into this world and was enthusiastic about everything. Prior to her death she was accepted to Academic Magnet High School. 

Open Faith, Open Hearts, Open Mind

Although I only posted three pictures of headstone,  I want you to appreciate the graveyard for what it really is. I didn't feel death when I visited, if anything it felt like a garden and every single part of it was alive. It seemed as though it cherished the memory of all the people there in a beautiful way. Every other blog post I made was about death, but death can be a beautiful thing if you cherish it in the right way. Usually when I go to graveyards I feel sad, but this time it was like I felt joy inside of my soul that connected me to every living and dead person there.

Next to the unitarian garden, is a grave yard that is more uniformed, although this is my first time being at a garden graveyard, I prefer this version much more. You don't have to be careful when stepping over the graves because there are pathways marked out for you to walk on. The insects and animals are allowed to be free and aren't restricted to certain areas as the way it should be. It's as though everything has a place here and no one is being forced out. 

Interior of the Church

To the left and right are images of the church, which happens to be just as beautiful as the outside. The moment I walked in the church I was greeted by volunteers of the church who led tours. Although I refused because I wanted to walk on my own they were more than welcoming to me. 

The image to the left is a picture of the stained glass. I took a picture of this because I've never been to a non black church where the people on the stained glass were of color. To me this was breathtaking and it was shocking and beautiful in its own way primarily because it shows how openminded the people here were. The stained glass depicts the four Gospels, Aaron the Priest, and Moses the Lawgiver flanking the Ark of the Covenant. 

Next I have more stained glass windows. I shared this image because the stained glass has not only Hebrew but also Greek quotes on the windows. In Hebrew it states, "The lord is one" and in Greek from the Gospel of St. John, " God is Spirit" 

To the right are pictures of the church throughout its several reconstruction periods. 

Lastly, I have image of a monument that is dedicated to the slaves that helped build the church and make the bricks for it. (1774-1787)

I hope you take the time to visit this graveyard just like I did. It gave me so much joy to see how everything about the church and its garden worked so well together. I want to thank you for reading my blog once again and I hope you stay safe out there. Goodbye Tanderanians.