At Rest?

At Rest? depicts a seemingly forgotten woodland cemetery associated with St. Johnland Nursing Center in Kings Park, NY (originally called the village of St. Johnland). In 1866 Reverend Augustus Muhlenberg, with the help of Sister Anne Ayres, established the St. Johnland Society, a rural retreat for the poor on 500 acres. Its purpose at the time was: “providing homes for the deserving and industrious poor who wish to escape the horrors of tenement houses; to afford a country refuge for the sick children of St. Luke’s Hospital… and to establish a home for old men, for whom, at the time the community was established, no place could be found but the Almshouse.” Muhlenberg was a forward-thinking clergyman, educator, and philanthropist whose legacy continues to this day. Since the 1950s St. Johnland has focused on providing care for the elderly. Although Muhlenberg and Ayres might be disappointed in the neglect of the cemetery, they both eschewed grandiose religious trappings in order to concentrate on achieving practical benefits for others. I believe they would be pleased with the continuance of their work and that for them this would outweigh the condition of the cemetery in which they both reside. Muhlenberg’s inscription reads: Here sleeps The Earthly Part of William Augustus Muhlenberg, Doctor in Divinity He was born September 16th, 1796 Ended his work April 8th, 1877 In truth, his work has been carried on by others. My first reactions to discovering this cemetery were sadness and uneasiness given the unfamiliar setting and condition of the place. Like most people I am used to well-groomed cemeteries with immaculate lawns and a few well placed trees and shrubs. Such locations are intended to evince respect and permanence, unchanging for all time. And yet, after several visits I found myself calmed by the solace provided by this cemetery with its numerous trees; most living, some declining, and more than a few dead. The trees reflect the condition of the gravestones themselves, some unscathed, some showing age, and a few toppled over. It occurred to me that trees, like people, grow, live, die, and eventually return to the earth, "dust to dust, ashes to ashes". As two gravestones state, those buried are “At Rest”; and yet, as part of Nature, people, like trees, are never completely at rest, but rather ever-changing in their physical state. To me, this natural setting reflects the circle of life and is more comforting than a well-intentioned illusion of permanence.