Church of the Resurrection gets Leawood approval for new memorial garden

Leawood’s City Council on Monday unanimously approved a plan for construction of a columbarium and memorial garden at the United Methodist Church of the Resurrection.

The memorial garden, south of 137th Street and east of Nall, will feature shaded trees and tranquil landscaping to be a safe and peaceful space.

The church currently has a memorial garden that holds 450 niches for funeral urns to be stored, but it is currently full. The new mausoleum will ultimately hold 3,600 niches.

Dick Cooper, the church’s director of facilities and construction, estimated the congregation is averaging a loss of 12 to 13 members per year.

“We’ve looked at the number of niches that are needed for the last 15 or 16 years,” Cooper said. “Our congregation is getting older, but we think the 3,600 will last for several years.

The church is currently in the process of constructing a massive new $90 million sanctuary, which will feature one of the largest stained glass windows in the world.

This story was originally published March 8, 2017 at 4:00 PM with the headline "Church of the Resurrection gets Leawood approval for new memorial garden."