How do they mow the grass at cemeteries?

How many mowers do they need per acre? What kind of mowers do they have, how much variety? Do they have riding lawnmowers, push lawnmowers? They probably have edgers, I’m guessing. How many?How do they maneuver around tombstones? What about those flat tombstones that are level with the ground? Do they mow over those tombstones, or is that a sacrilegious act?

How long does it take to mow a cemetery? How many people does it take? How does one even calculate that? Acreage plus complexity of the monument placement/arrangement?

Let’s take Oak Ridge Cemetery in Springfield, IL. I’d say it’s on the larger side of cemeteries. Abraham Lincoln is buried there. I have family there, too.

Springfield is in the middle of the flat Midwestern prairie, but the cemetery itself is full of mini-peaks and valleys. How much of a pain is it to mow the rolling hills of this very, very old cemetery?

I’m tempted to call and ask, but I feel like the likelihood of getting an answer is probably slim.

Cemeteries are sacred to a lot of people, especially those with loved ones resting there. Any clumsy investigation into the very mundane act of landscaping might be seen as borderline offensive to some.

The logistics of it is fascinating to me. Maybe I’ll call tomorrow. Maybe.

It’s been over a year since I did my first sacred spaces post. It’s time for another, I reckon!

FranIAm was nice enough to answer my questions. Thank you, Fran!

First, some background information:

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Fran was born and raised Catholic, and promptly removed herself from faith practice at the age of 14.

She spent many years seeking, and while never losing faith, she did not follow any typical faith practice, but studied Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism and Buddhism.

Somehow, by age 32 she wandered, albeit reluctantly, to the faith of her youth. At age 51, she remains there, fully immersed in life, work and study… recalcitrant and rebellious as ever, but still at the table.

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Splotchy: What religion will be talking about?

Fran: Roman Catholic

S: In this religion, is there a concept of sacredness? Of the holy?

F: Yes, a most profound sense of sacredness and holiness and in particular around churches and shrines. And even with in the church, there are the truly sacred spots.

S: Is there a concept of a sacred space? A location that that has been imbued with some properties of holiness?

F: The worship space – or main body of the church is called the sanctuary is where the community gathers for liturgy and worship also known as Mass. This is a holy place. There is a tabernacle which may be somewhere in the main sanctuary or which may be held in what is known as a Reservation Chapel; that is where the consecrated bread is kept, which is for Catholics the Body of Christ. This is the holiest place and requires reverence and silence.

The altar table in a Catholic church is supposed to have a relic in it, meaning some object of a saint. It could be a bone, a tooth, some hair – that is built within. I don’t know if modern altar tables have this. It does imbue a certain sense of ancient holiness to some and is meant to be a link to the past.

S: How is a space imbued with holiness?

F: This is my own opinion – I think when any place is a place where people have gathered to celebrate, to mourn, to pray – that a sort of patina forms and it is holiness. I had a great sense of this in the Holy Land where there are often “duplicate” locations of some holy moment.

As far as commissioning a church or holy space, it is with prayers and rituals that have been used in the Roman Catholic church over time. These rituals must be executed before a space can be used for worship.

S: Are there instances where a sacred space is deconsecrated, where its holiness is removed?

F: The holiness itself is not removed per se, but rather the ability to celebrate sacramental worship there. And yes – this happens when churches are closed.

S: How is a sacred space deconsecrated?

F: There is a ritual, the altar table and tabernacle are removed.

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Thank you very much to Fran for answering my questions!

I am tentatively starting a new feature on I, Splotchy.

I am going to interview practitioners of different religions to ask them specific questions regarding the existence, purpose, making and unmaking of sacred spaces.

I have two people I have reached out to thus far. To better explain the intent of this feature, I’ll include the spiel I relayed to them prior to asking some questions.

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A few months back, I was working in a neighborhood Chicago arts center, helping my friend shoot a movie. This arts center used to be a Lutheran church. I spent a lot of time there, in different rooms, including the main cathedral (is cathedral the right word?). It was kind of weird being around all the pews, etc., but knowing that the place wasn’t a church any longer — it was strictly an arts center, and had no religious affiliation whatsoever.

It got me thinking about:

What makes a space sacred?

Did they initially consecrate the church where I was now standing? How did they do that?

Did they deconsecrate the church where I was now standing to stop it from being a church? How did they do that?

I realize that the sacred can be everywhere, and that’s an important concept to keep in mind. I know very little about Islam, but it’s my understanding that several times a day Muslims pray towards Mecca, and they do this from work, from home, etc.

Yet, there are also mosques. Are mosques imbued with some kind of holiness, which differentiates them from praying in one’s home?

I know places of historical significance can have great sacred meaning to people, but I was thinking more along the lines of sacred spaces that are part of a person’s immediate environment — a local synagogue, a church, a mosque.

I see the sacred as representing a kind of pathway to a Divinity or a higher power of some sort, and sacred spaces somehow tie into it (at least in my mind).

I want to know how a space becomes sacred. I want to know how a space stops being sacred.

How is the pathway, the conduit, to divinity/spirituality/awareness opened? Through what mechanism(s)?

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I had an email conversation with Ed Russell (father to Tim), where he was gracious enough to answer some of my questions, which are included below.

First, some background information:

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Ed: I have been interested in Buddhism since the early 70s. I began formal practice (at a Zen Center with a teacher) in 1999. I was ordained in 2001.

In Buddhist circles I would be Ed Mushin Russell (Mushin being part of my Dharma name).

[My responses] reflect my own opinion and I cannot speak for other Buddhists.

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Splotchy: What religion will be talking about?

Ed: Buddhism, particularly Zen Buddhism

S: In this religion, is there a concept of sacredness? Of the holy?

E: Strictly speaking, no. In the 6th century CE a famous Buddhist monk (Bodhidharma) traveled from India to China. The emperor heard about it and sent for him. When asked what his teaching was, Bodhidharma replied “Vast emptiness, nothing holy.” The emperor was not thrilled with this answer, but that’s another story.

On the other hand, there is nothing that is not sacred and holy. When asked what the essence of Buddha’s teaching was, an ancient Zen master replied, “Drinking tea and eating rice.”

S: Is there a concept of a sacred space? A location that that has been imbued with some properties of holiness?

E: In keeping with the ambiguity of my previous reply, yes and no. The holy place is always right here now. There are, however, places such as monasteries, temples and zendos which can be more conducive to Buddhist practice. People spend time in these places to focus and strengthen their practice. But our life, just as it is and right where we are, is the place that Buddhism always exists, whether we are sitting on a cushion in the temple or sitting on the toilet in a gas station.

S: How is a space imbued with holiness?

E: Because that is where you are.

S: Are there instances where a sacred space is deconsecrated, where its holiness is removed?

E: Yes.

S: How is a sacred space deconsecrated?

E: When we are caught up in our ideas and beliefs about what and where we should or shouldn’t be, we are no longer right here now and turn the sacred into the profane. Greed, anger and delusion poison our life and turn the freedom that is always ours into a prison of our own making.

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Thank you very much to Ed for answering my questions.