The Rural Blog had this post--as rural communities dwindle in population there's less and less support for the institutions of the past. I've run into this in my own life: while the churches and cemeteries where my ancestors worshiped and are buried are still active, I can't be sure that's going to be true in another generation.
Personally, I'm going to be cremated. Because I have no children no one will miss my gravestone. But the church my Rippey ancestors helped found no longer has enough members to support a minister; it has been combined with another church. My parents church was already combined with two others when I was growing up. As the mainline denominations lose members the outlook is grim.
I think there is no answer. We can't preserve everything from the past, so many churches and cemeteries will gradually disappear, just as the evidence of the ways of life of previous residents of this continent have already disappeared.
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