Last week my class went to see the wonders that lay in the graveyard at Bethel Church. The main focus of this post will be to display and explain some of the symbols that are found on gravestones.
Bethel United Methodist Church has been around for quite some time. It was founded in 1797 and is distinguished a national historic landmark according to the churches website. This church is known for accepting black and white congregations. The website also states that the first building now called "Old Bethel" was donated to the black congregation in 1876. Both buildings today, have combined with a common goals to strengthen bonds between sister churches, united methodists, and christians.
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| Flemming, Die on Socke |
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| Rosa Mary, 1835-1881 |
The photo to the left depicts a wreath of foliage which symbolizes a bunch of emotions however, the more common ones being; love, grief, and happiness.
The photo to the right contains carve work of flowers and a drapery on the top. The flowers symbolize different emotions while the drapery or curtain symbolizes the allowance of mounting longer.
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| Priscilla Sarah Eason |
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| 1809-1885 |
Both the picture on the left and right is a headstone with a lot of symbolism. The symbolism is displayed at the top of the stone in the form of a cross and a crown. What it is symbolizing is the sovereignty of the Lord.
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| Elizabeth M. Ainger |
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| 1807-1872 |
This next headstone above is beautiful and the symbolism is beautiful. The carvings of flora and fauna symbolize those same different emotions, and the dove is a very important symbol in the christian religion. It is commonly seen on a gravestone to show the presence of the Holy Spirit.
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| Charles C. Seyle |
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| 1823-1880 |
The picture on the left is another headstone that contains a cross however, this one does not have a crown on it. It does have some leaves and plant like structures around, and we know what that symbolizes. However, a cross on its own like this, usually just symbolizes salvation.
The photo on the right is a beautiful gravestone with lots of carvings. We know what the flowers mean but what I am still trying to figure out is if there is a scroll. If you can figure it out let me know!
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| Casey Poyas |
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| Mary Crukshanks |
This photo on the left is small in person but has lots to offer in terms of symbolism. Body parts are common on gravestones and even the same type of body part can have different meanings when carved in different positions. For this one, the finger is pointing upwards, this symbolizes the reward of the righteous. In other words, the confirmation of life after death.
The photo to the right contains symbolism within the tree that has been carved onto the stone. This tree is a weeping willow, symbolizing mourning.
Due to formatting I will explain these last two photos down here. The top photo is the inside of Bethel United Methodist Church. While spending some time inside taking in all of the beauty more specifically the glass windows, it was great to gain more history from our guest speaker who is the women in the bottom photo.
the sources from where I interpreted the symbolism on each gravestone are The Cemetery Club and Stoneletters.com
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