The following is a brief of the story. For the full story, see the Tuesday, Nov. 4 print edition of the BDN.

Ozark Avalon Church of Nature filed initial documents with the Cooper County Recorder’s office to create the first natural burial cemetery in central Missouri on Oct. 31. The cemetery will be located on the church’s property in eastern Cooper County, on Cumberland Church Road.

This follows an overwhelming vote of the congregation at the Aug. 31 meeting, and was ratified by the organization’s board of directors on Sept. 1, according to Rev. Rose Wise.

The date of the filing was chosen because it is the actual time of Samhain, the Wiccan holiday honoring the beloved dead.

“A natural burial ground, also known as a green or eco-cemetery is a cemetery where the body is returned to the earth to decompose and recycle naturally,” said Wise. “Our goal will be to offer the alternative to church members and others desiring this type of internment. Scattering of ashes will also be allowed.”

Wise said this is in keeping with Ozark Avalon’s mission to provide access to nature, a safe place for outdoor worship in an earth-centered, earth-honored spiritual context, to promote community among persons with these beliefs and practices and to further environmentalism and appreciation for nature spirits and the earth.