The Parish of Eastern Passage

St. Peter's Anglican Church Cemetery News

The cemetery is OPEN for the season for burials and headstone installation. 

The cemetery is open for visitation.

St. Peter's Cemetery maintains the grounds; providing our regular perpetual care to the cemetery.

Continue to scroll down to read an important notice on cemetery policy and then find below that some Frequently Asked Questions about our cemetery.

If you have any further questions or concerns, please contact the office at 902-465-4767 or stpeterschurch@ns.sympatico.ca.

Cemetery Policy Update

St. Peter's Cemetery would like to remind the community some of our policy which you may not know, but which will be helpful in arranging burials and tending to your loved ones headstones.

Please make note of the following when arranging burials at St. Peter's Cemetery:

• St. Peter's Cemetery is open for burials from the May long weekend until October 31 annually.
• All burials must be arranged through the St. Peter's Church office.
• New plots can only be sold to current parishioners.
• Families wishing to have a cremation burial on top of an existing family plot must contact the church office before arranging for burial as existing plots need to be assessed to verify they can support more burials.
• We require sufficient notice to arrange for a burial; preferably a minimum of 3 days.
• The open and close fee must be paid directly to St. Peter's Cemetery at least 24 hours before a cremation burial and 48 hours before a full burial. Full burial open/close fees can also be paid directly to our contractor.
• We require a church or cemetery representative to be present at all burials. If families choose not to have our rector conduct a graveside service, a volunteer will be sent to attend the burial.
• A burial permit must be provided by the family or funeral home to the church on the day of the burial.

Please make note of the following when installing or repairing memorial stones at St. Peter's Cemetery:

• The church office must be notified of all work being done in the cemetery before stones are installed or repaired at a family's request. 
• Families or the monument company should verify with the church office if a planned memorial stone conforms to guidelines before ordering a stone. We do have a minimum base size and a maximum height for stones in place due to our wet ground.
• All burials must have some form of stone monument in place to mark the burial.

I am interested in buying a plot at St. Peter's Cemetery…

Plots are available to parishioners for purchase. Please note; St. Peter's Cemetery is not a community cemetery for Eastern Passage, rather a Parish cemetery for St. Peter's Church (Eastern Passage) and Christ Church (Cow Bay).

Plots will be assigned according to the next available plot. Plots cannot be chosen to be near existing family plots.

Plots can be purchased by contacting the St. Peter's Church office. All purchase requests must be approved by the Cemetery Committee or its designate. Payment must be made by cash or cheque, made out to "St. Peter's Cemetery".

I want to bury a family member on an existing family plot at St. Peter's…

Cremation burials can usually be done on an existing plot, whether it has another cremation burial(s) or a full body burial. This is at the family's discretion to allow another burial on their plot; however, the new burial must be approved by the St. Peter's Cemetery Committee or its designate. Plots can hold up to 6 cremation burials, but this can vary depending on the state of the ground on the specific plot. This must be assessed by the cemetery committee before the burial can proceed.

All burials must be arranged through the St. Peter's Church office. Under no circumstances can a burial be done by an individual or another company without the knowledge or approval of the cemetery committee.

How do I arrange a burial at St. Peter's Cemetery?

Start by contacting the church office at 902-465-4767 or stpeterschurch@ns.sympatico.ca . We will need your contact information, information on the plot you plan to use, such as who is already buried there or who purchased the plot, as well as your preferred burial date and time. If you are requesting Rev. Cate to do a service of interment, let us know right away so we can coordinate with her. We also require notice if you are inviting another clergy member to speak at the burial instead.

We will do our best to work with your preferences, as schedules allow. We do ask for as much notice as possible as it is very difficult to arrange a burial in just 2 or 3 days.

The open/close fee must be paid by cash or cheque at the St. Peter's Church office before the burial. Office hours are posted on the main page of the website. If you are unable to attend the office during office hours, please make arrangements with the office to set up an appointment.

Finally, please make sure your funeral home provides a copy of the burial permit to St. Peter's. We must have the burial permit on file for every burial in St. Peter's Cemetery.

Can I have a full burial, or just a cremation burial?

Full burials are becoming less common and more difficult to do. If you are planning a full burial, please contact the office as soon as possible as this can take a few days to arrange. We do use an independent contractor to open and close the plot for a full burial. You will need to pay the contractor directly for this prior to the burial.

When you request full burial, we need to assess your family plot to see if it is possible. If you are using a new plot in section D (corner by the fire station), our newest section, it is quite likely we can proceed with your full burial. If the plot already has any cremation burials on it, a full burial is not possible. If you wish to use an old plot in section A or B (running along Cow Bay Rd from the lights to the church), it is unlikely to support a full burial, but we will determine this on a case by case basis. Again, please contact the church office as soon as possible to have your plot assessed if you are planning a full burial.

My loved one just passed away but the cemetery is closed for the winter. Can I still bury my loved one?

St. Peter’s Cemetery is open from Victoria Day weekend in May until October 31. Outside of that time, we are closed for burials. However, it may be possible in the “shoulder seasons” of November-December or April-May to do a burial by exception, weather permitting. If it is urgent to arrange a burial in our off season, contact the office and we will have your request evaluated. We will consider the state of the ground – is it frozen, very wet, snow covered? We will look at the upcoming weather. If your request is approved, please note that if the weather changes, such as a snow or rain storm the day before or of the burial, we may need to postpone it.

Please note that the cemetery paths are not cleared in the winter and you must walk in to the grave as is. There is no plowing allowed in the cemetery so please do not arrange to have your plot or the pathways plowed. Come dressed for the weather and be prepared to walk in through snow or wet ground.

How much will this cost?

Please contact the church office for current pricing, as this can change.

You can expect to pay a perpetual care fee for a single plot, if you don't have one, and/or to pay an open/close fee for a burial. The open/close fee covers the cost of the burial.

Please note that it does cost more for a cremation burial in our two, oldest sections. These are the two sections running along Cow Bay Road. When these plots were assigned, there were little to no perpetual care fees collected. Now, part of the open/close fee in these sections pays for the burial and the remainder is put toward perpetual care of the cemetery.

I think my family purchased a plot many years ago but we have no paperwork. What can I do?

Contact the office and we will see if we can locate your plot. We will need to know the approximate date of purchase, especially the year, and the name of the purchaser. It helps if you can recall what area of the cemetery it was in, or other family plots it may be near. If we can find the plot, either through finding a receipt at the office or by locating an empty plot in the area described, we will issue you a new Form of Conveyance for the plot.

Unfortunately, if we cannot find any documentation at the office and there is no obvious empty plot in the area it is said to be located, we are unable to honor the plot. This happens most often in the case of plots sold prior to 1990 and located in our oldest section (the quadrant at the corner of Cow Bay Rd & Caldwell Rd) where the plots are in less of a grid layout,

What kind of headstone can I have placed?

Each plot can have one free standing stone memorial that is a minimum of 6" thick with a wide foundation and base and of reasonable height. The memorial stone should be installed by a monument company. Please contact St. Peter's Church office to advise of your plans to install a memorial stone. All memorial stones must be approved by the cemetery committee or its designate.

No wooden, plastic or metal memorial stones or crosses are allowed.

If the plot already has a free standing stone, a second, flat marker can be added to the plot for subsequent burials, if desired. This must be no larger than 18" square, without a base or foundation, and installed level with the ground. This too should be installed by a monument company.

What perpetual care does St. Peter's Cemetery provide?

St. Peter's Cemetery provides all care to the cemetery grounds. This includes mowing the grass, caring for the trees, planting grass seed, filling in and leveling holes and removing anything found on the grounds that has been placed contrary to cemetery rules. At times, you may notice areas of uncovered mud or rock on your loved one's plot. This happens when the ground must be filled in and leveled and grass seed planted, as this process takes time.

What care does the family need to provide to our loved ones resting place?

The family is responsible for placing and maintaining any desired memorial stones. You should work with a monument company to design and install your headstone and make sure they work in the cemetery in such a way as to protect the cemetery grounds, being especially cautious of heavy equipment use. You should consult with St. Peter's Church during this process to make sure your memorial meets cemetery guidelines, because if anything is installed contrary to guidelines, you will be responsible for removing it.

The family is also responsible to clean and repair their memorial stone, as desired, should it fall, crack or lean. You are permitted to repair the stone yourself, or hire a memorial company to do so. St. Peter's Cemetery does not maintain the memorial stones.

My family member's headstone has fallen over or is damaged. What can be done?

This is a common problem at St. Peter's Cemetery as the ground is very wet. You are welcome to fix the headstone yourself, if you have the skill to do so. You can also contact a local monument company to do the work for you. Please advise the St. Peter's Church office if you will be having someone in the cemetery to do any work to your family's memorial stone. The office may be able to refer you to a local contractor who can repair your stone, however, St. Peter's Cemetery does not offer stone repair service. The cemetery is not responsible for any damage or wear and tear to headstones.

What can I place or plant on a family member's resting place?

You can place flowers in saddles and vases. If you are marking a special occasion with flowers, balloons, pictures etc please ensure you come back and remove them in a timely fashion after the occasion. If items are left too long, and especially if they begin to blow around the cemetery, they may be removed by the groundskeeper. You are not permitted to plant flowers or bushes.

I am researching family history and need information on historical burials at St. Peter's Cemetery. Can you help?

We are currently working on building a database and booklet with photos of all the plots at St. Peter's Cemetery. Please contact the office at 902-465-4767 or stpeterschurch@ns.sympatico.ca if you are looking for information on family members buried at St. Peter's. We can look up records for you!