Weddings, Baptisms and Funerals

When you get married, you make a public declaration of life-long commitment to love each other faithfully and take on a whole new legal status as husband and wife.

It’s a considerable commitment to make. Around 85% of married couples agree: marriage is the most serious decision of your life!

The Church of England believes in marriage for the wellbeing of individuals and society. If you’ve found 'the one', and you are committed to each other in every respect, there’s so much more adventure ahead. We’d be thrilled to be part of that adventure too.

We want to make your wedding personal and memorable for you. Churches are special places and there are some things about a church wedding that you just can’t get anywhere else:

  • A spiritual dimension to your marriage.
  • Amazing vows (or promises).
  • The outstanding beauty and history of church buildings.
  • For some people, a church simply seems like the proper place to get married.

Thanks to a new law, you've now got more choice about which church to marry in. You can be involved in making lots of choices about your ceremony too.

If you want some ideas for hymns the Church of England has a site to help with some suggestions.

Baptism… making a new beginning … becoming part of God’s family

Baptism is the Church’s special welcome into God’s family. People are normally baptised as babies, but many are baptised as children, young people or adults.

When a priest baptises someone, he or she makes the sign of the cross on their forehead, and pours water on their head. Sometimes people are dipped in the water or go down into it. Jesus himself was baptised in the river Jordan before he began his ministry of teaching and preaching.

When people are baptised, they make important promises about what they believe. The priest prepares them for baptism. They are baptised in the name of God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit.

Parents and godparents make the promises for babies and young children who cannot answer for themselves. Parents, godparents and the church family also make promises of their own to provide the person being baptised with the resources, opportunities and encouragement to follow Jesus. They are normally given a lighted candle.

Baptism leads to ‘confirmation’ when young people and adults confirm the decision made on their behalf by their parents and godparents at baptism when they were babies (or young children) or by themselves if they were baptised later on.

Requests

If you wish to have your wedding or baptism/christening at one of our churches you can contact us by telephone, by post or by email and we will be very pleased to hear from you. In addition, you are very welcome to come along to one of our Sunday services, when you will receive a warm welcome.

Funerals

All funeral requests should be made to the Rector, Rev Nick Law, who will do everything possible to make the process as free from stress as possible.

A funeral marks the close of a human life on earth. It is the opportunity for friends and family to express their grief, to give thanks for the life of someone at the end of their journey in this world and to commend them into God's keeping.

The Funeral service of the Church of England can be simple and quiet with only a few members of the family present or an occasion of great solemnity with music, hymns and a packed church. It may take place in a parish church or a crematorium chapel, and may come from the Prayer Book or from Common Worship.

Whatever the pattern of service, the words and actions all speak of a loving God and the preciousness to him of every human being, and, in particular, the person you love who has died.

Everyone has a right to a funeral in the Church of England church in their parish, whether or not they were a churchgoer. Parish clergy see the taking of funerals as an important part of their work and will gladly give their time to talk to those who are facing loss, to be with them in their pain, and to help to arrange whatever kind of funeral service is most appropriate.

Thanksgiving and Memorial Services

It is possible for you to have a private Funeral Service with Committal before gathering for a Thanksgiving or Memorial Service after this at the church, on the same day or on another occasion. Rev Nick Law is happy to discuss your Order of Service for this.