Returning the Body to Earth – Adult Forum and Film Screening

October 4, 2026
10:00 a.m. – Adult Forum at St. Paul’s
2:00 p.m. – Film Screening at Fayetteville Public Library

“We are mortal, formed of the earth, and to earth shall we return.” These words from our funeral liturgy remind us of our deep connection to the earth and to the God who gives us life. But how do we honor that return?

Conservation burial is a movement that reclaims traditional burial practices by returning the dead directly to the earth while caring for the surrounding land as a nature preserve. On Sunday, October 4, we’ll have an opportunity to learn more about this practice and consider what it might mean for our understanding of death, burial, and our relationship with creation.

During Adult Forum at 10:00 a.m., we’ll welcome John Christian Phifer, director of Larkspur Conservation Burial in Nashville. John Christian co-founded Larkspur with Episcopal priest and Magdalene House founder Becca Stevens. He’ll be joined in conversation by Ragan Sutterfield, a priest at Christ Church in Little Rock who is working to bring conservation burial to Arkansas.

There will also be an opportunity to explore the subject through film. On Sunday afternoon from 2:00–4:00 p.m., the Fayetteville Public Library will host a screening of Bury Me at Taylor Hollow, a documentary about conservation burial and the people working to reconnect burial with the land. See the flyer below for registration information.

Join us for one or both of these opportunities to consider how the way we care for the dead might also become a way of caring for the earth.