Life’s Special Events
Marriage? Christening? Mourning? See below for how we can help!
WEDDINGS
Did you know that you could very well have a right to be married in one of our churches? You most certainly do if you live in our parish - but there are other circumstances in which we are able to marry you as well (such as family connections). For more information about your rights under a new law about weddings, please click here for the national Church of England weddings website.
If you are eligible, and if you are beginning to plan for your special day - we'd love to be involved. Not only will you have the use of one of our three churches for your ceremony; you'll also have the personal attention of one of our ministers. Each of us is experienced in taking and preparing for weddings. Our aim will be to help you, as a couple, prepare not just for the day, but for the rest of your married lives together.
You get much more from a church wedding than a registry office. Fact. True, it costs more to get married in church...(because of legal fees we are obliged to charge). But would you rather have a whole church available to you and your family for as long as you need it; or be just one of a 'conveyor belt' of civil marriages at a registry office? Would you rather have a civil ceremony, without any religious language at all (at a registry office), or a beautiful church wedding, with prayers and promises before God? Would you rather have half an hour's attention from a civil registrar, or the close, personal involvement (and marriage preparation) of a parish priest? It's your choice!
To begin a conversation with us, please get in touch with our Parish Administrator, Christine, via the Contact Us page; or, if you are on a public computer, you may like to use the contact form at the bottom of the page you are reading now.
BAPTISMS
(also known as 'CHRISTENINGS')
If you live in our parish, you (or your child) have a legal right to be baptised (sometimes also known as 'christened') in one of our churches...and it doesn't cost a penny (unless you request a private baptism, which we will conduct under certain circumstances). Baptism services are held in all three of our churches each month, according to the following rota:
1st Sundays: St Francis (during a 'Welcome Service')
3rd Sundays: St Mark (during our 'All-In' modern service with up-beat songs and a video-based Communion)
4th Sundays: St Nicholas (during our traditional family Communion)
Get in touch with us now to discuss the possibilities! Either contact Christine, our Parish Administrator, via the Contact Us page, or use the contact form at the bottom of the page you are reading now.
TIMES OF MOURNING
If you have recently lost a loved one, please accept our condolences. Perhaps you are thinking about using the deceased's local parish church for their funeral? If so, we would love to be involved. Residents of the parish have a legal right to have their funeral held in their local parish church - and our ministers are all experienced, and trained, at taking such funerals.
In our opinion, a church funeral is a far preferable alternative to one held at Crematorium. Crematorium services are generally limited to 20 minutes in length. At a church, there is as much time as you and your family need to remember and pray for, your loved one. It is also possible to play videos and photos of their life, and there is plenty of time for tributes to be paid, and hymns to be sung.
After a church service, it is still possible to take up the option of cremation, or burial in a local civic graveyard. Regretfully, none of our churches have land available for burials. However, St Nicholas has a small (and very pretty) Garden of Remembrance in which ashes may be interred by arrangement with the Vicar of St Nicholas, Bev Robertson.
Get in touch with us now to discuss the possibilities. Either contact Christine, our Parish Administrator, via the Contact Us page, or use the contact form just below this text.