Memorial Garden

The Montreat Memorial Garden is designed as an appropriate site for interment of ash remains for any of God’s people.

The Memorial Garden Committee consists of persons appointed by the MRA President to supervise the Montreat Memorial Garden.

The Memorial Garden Committee oversees the Garden under the policies and procedures adopted by the Board of Directors of Montreat Conference Center. The committee arranges for the maintenance of the garden and ensures that repairs, enhancements, and additions are consistent with the master plan for the Garden. The committee is also responsible for maintaining a record of the interments in the garden.

Certificate Holder is the person who owns the certificate and has the right to have his/her ashes interred in the Montreat Memorial Garden, or can specify who uses it.

• Certificate is the contract between Mountain Retreat Association (MRA), dba Montreat Conference Center, and any person who wants to use the Memorial Garden for interment. It is understood that this certificate does not constitute a sale of property rights but provides a license for the use of space for interment of ashes in accordance with Policies, Procedures, and Directives adopted by the MRA Board of Directors.
• Interment is the act of placing cremated remains in a scattering garden or urn.
• Inurnment takes place when cremated remains are placed in a cylinder/urn as opposed to scattering. The cylinder/urn is placed in a niche.
• Memorial Garden is the Montreat Memorial Garden, located in Montreat, NC, which contains a columbarium wall and a scattering garden.
• Memorial Plaque is a way to remember those whose ashes are scattered in the Memorial Garden. The cast bronze plaque is inscribed with the deceased’s name, date of birth, and date of death.
• MRA is an abbreviation of Mountain Retreat Association which is the corporate name of Montreat Conference Center.
• Niche is a designated space in the columbarium wall. Each niche is covered by a granite faceplate on which the deceased’s name, date of birth, and date of death is inscribed.
• Plaque of Remembrance is a way to remember those persons interred elsewhere but who wish to be remembered in Montreat. The cast bronze plaque is inscribed with the deceased’s name, date of birth, and date of death and attached on the columbarium wall. Download a Plaque of Remembrance Application form.

If you lose your certificate, contact the Development Office by phone at 828.419.9883 or email, and the certificate will be reissued. A fee will be charged to reissue a certificate.

Yes, the Montreat Memorial Garden contains an area designated for the scattering of ashes. Download an Interment Application to reserve the right to scatter ashes.

The Committee arranges for the maintenance of the Garden and ensures that repairs, enhancements, and additions are consistent with the master plan for the Garden.

The Montreat Memorial Garden is in an open area of beauty and tranquility. There is not a chapel or sanctuary in the Memorial Garden.

Arrangements for cremation are made through a funeral home. To reserve a time for a memorial service or interment, contact the Development Office by phone at 828.419.9883 or email.

Yes, you will always be able to enter the Garden; however, when a service is in session, we ask that visitors are considerate of the gathered friends and family.

No planting or digging is allowed within the confines of the garden area except in accordance with the guidance of the Memorial Garden Committee and in accordance with the master plan for the Garden.

Yes, any niche that has not been previously reserved by another person may be reserved for future use upon payment of fees and in accordance with Policies, Procedures, and Directives in effect at the time the application is approved by the Memorial Garden Committee and the Memorial Garden Certificate is issued. Download the Interment Application to reserve a niche.

Fees for niches, rights to the scattering garden, nameplates on the Plaque of Remembrance, and other fees are established and periodically reviewed by the Montreat Memorial Garden Committee. The fee covers placing the inscription on the faceplate or casting of the bronze nameplate for the scattering garden Memorial Plaque and Plaque of Remembrance.

Here are the current fees:

• Double Niche/ (for two people): $2000
• Scattering of Ashes: $500 per person
• Plaque of Remembrance (per plaque, for those interred elsewhere): $500

The cost of cremation and any attendant expenses are not the responsibility of the Montreat Memorial Garden.

All inscriptions on niche faceplates or plaques contain only the deceased’s name, date of birth, and date of death.

Yes, there are naming opportunities within the Garden. For more information, contact the Development Office by phone at 828.419.9883 or email.

The Memorial Garden Committee is under no obligation to repurchase a certificate and therefore all payments are final and no refunds will be made.

With prior written consent of the Memorial Garden Committee, the reservation of a niche or scattering rights may be conveyed, assigned, or transferred using the Transfer of Montreat Memorial Garden Certificate form. For a copy of the form, contact the Development Office by phone at 828.419.9883 or email.