Resurrection Memorial Garden
Planning for a sacred final resting place
A sacred final resting place
The Resurrection Memorial Garden provides a beautiful and meaningful final resting place on the grounds of the church that you have loved and served. Inurnment in the memorial garden is an alternative to burial for those who consider Church of the Resurrection their church home, along with their immediate family members. The garden is located beneath the Resurrection stained glass window, just north of the Leawood sanctuary, making it a welcoming, sacred and private place for loved ones to spend time in remembrance, prayer and reflection.
Like the Resurrection Window, the Resurrection Memorial Garden continues the theme of gardens from the Bible. The design includes a columbarium, a landscaped garden with walkways and seating benches, and an inspirational water feature. The columbarium is an arrangement of stone walls with openings in which urns containing the cremated remains of the deceased loved ones are placed for permanent inurnment. Bronze plaques on the niches are engraved with the names and life dates of those inurned.
The Memorial Garden is being constructed in phases. The first phase, completed in the fall of 2019, is a courtyard with a free-standing stone wall containing 900 individual niches, a water feature, and the infrastructure (site development, fencing, electrical and plumbing). Additional courtyards, stone walls and niches will be constructed as needed, with construction of phase 2, which includes Courtyard 2B, beginning in summer 2020. Courtyard 2A will be constructed at a future date. Plans include nine courtyards to accommodate 5,100 niches.
The cost of purchasing a niche in the first two phases of the Resurrection Memorial Garden is $2,750 through December 31, 2020, subject to increase after that date. The cost includes one individual niche, opening and closing for inurnment, one standard urn, a bronze blank cover for the niche, record-keeping and maintenance. Not included is the cost of cremation and the engraved inscription on the bronze niche cover.

Purchasing and selecting a niche
- Review the Memorial Garden Agreement. You may download the agreement from the website: cor.org/garden or call the church (913-897-0120) to request a copy by mail. Return your completed agreement and payment to: The Church of the Resurrection, Attention: Memorial Garden Administrator, 13720 Roe Ave., Leawood, KS 66224.
- Payment must accompany the signed agreement. Payment by check is preferred. If you want to pay with a credit card, please email memorialgarden@cor.org for further instructions.
- In July, you will be emailed an online link to schedule an appointment to select the location of your niche(s). Appointment registration emails will be sent out in the order the paperwork and payment have been received.
- At your niche selection appointment, the Memorial Garden administrator will work with you individually to select a niche for you and/or your loved ones. This appointment may be handled by phone or in person.
- You will receive a copy of your agreement with the signature of the memorial garden administrator and the identifying number of the niche you have purchased at your niche selection appointment.
Questions and Answers
Why did we build a new Memorial Garden?
A memorial garden provides a sacred final resting place for loved ones that proclaims our faith in the resurrection. The Church of the Resurrection has had a memorial garden in the courtyard of Building C, adjacent to Wesley Covenant Chapel, since 1999. We have added to it over the years to accommodate the growing need.
All available niches in the Wesley Garden are sold. We have now sold all niches in the first phase of the Resurrection Memorial Garden, and are now selling for phase two.
Why inurnment in a columbarium instead of burial?
What does the Scripture say about cremation?
Do I have to be a member of Church of the Resurrection to own or use a niche in the Garden?
When will the Resurrection Memorial Garden be built and open?
The Resurrection Memorial Garden will take approximately 10 months to complete. The first phase of construction began in October 2018.