Carolyn Anderson and Elaine Bishoff Care for the Land, the Living, and Those Laid to Rest at Honey Creek Woodlands

Both Carolyn Anderson and Elaine Bishoff will tell you they love what they do. This might be surprising, given they work as the manager and the senior steward at the largest green burial preserve in the United States: Honey Creek Woodlands in Conyers, Georgia. Yet as they share moving stories and bouts of laughter, it’s clear the approach towards caring for both the deceased and their loved ones is different at Honey Creek.

Elaine has been a steward at Honey Creek Woodlands for 13 years. Growing up attending Our Lady of the Assumption, she was a Western-loving horse girl who was “a little more Wednesday Addams than Marcia Brady,” so the idea of nontraditional burials stuck in her mind. An article on green burial led to her discovering the 1600-acre memorial nature preserve attached to the Monastery of the Holy Spirit. Before she had a chance to visit, her father passed away. Like many people, he didn’t like talking about death and didn’t leave her mother with specific burial plans.

“So, I said, ‘Well, let me tell you what they’re doing at the monastery.’ And the second I said the word ‘monastery’, it didn’t matter what they were doing out here. She was in.” – Elaine Bishoff 

Carolyn has been at Honey Creek Woodlands for eight years. The daughter of a Baptist minister and a member of Union Missionary Baptist Church, she is more of the “indoor cat” compared to Elaine’s snake-wrangling outdoorswoman. With a degree in mortuary science, Carolyn managed a very large funeral home in Atlanta before discovering Honey Creek and the practice of green burial.

Both women note the importance of educating people on the practice of green burial and its connection with caring for creation and the bereaved. As a nature preserve, burial sites are placed among the forests, meadows, and trails. All graves are dug by hand. In contrast to many modern practices, the body returns to the earth in its most natural state, without embalming chemicals and not in a vault. Instead, individuals are laid to rest in a shroud or casket made of biodegradable materials.

The land is permanently protected by a conservation easement, ensuring no future development. Green burials are less expensive compared to most modern burials, and Honey Creek Woodlands helps to support the Monastery.

“The monks praying for everybody who is buried here is, to me, kind of the jewel on top of it all.”– Elaine Bishoff 

“The Monastery community is happy to offer a quiet and beautiful resting place for people of all faiths, as well as those who have struggled to find faith. We are pleased to provide our land and promise to reverently protect it for those who share it with us.” – Abbot Augustine Myslinski, OCSO 

While they acknowledge there are very sad situations, maintaining the natural beauty and offering a personal connection to the bereaved helps lighten the burden of grief for many. They share one story of a young man who died of cancer and, as part of the burial service, was wrapped in a cotton quilt. All those who attended brought their own quilts and took the time to sit across from him and his wife to say their goodbyes.

“We do little stuff like that, and it’s not for show. We do it because we genuinely care. They tell us we’re part of their family, and we feel like they’re part of ours.’ –Carolyn Anderson

“I’ve done over a thousand services since I came to work here, and I can tell you a story about almost every one. I can tell you where almost everybody is buried. We’re the caretakers, the stewards of land, but also of a whole lot of people. And that’s really important.” – Elaine Bishoff 

To learn more about Honey Creek Woodlands, click here.

Learn more about bereavement support offered by the Pastoral Care Ministry.