Baptisms and Thanksgivings

We welcome families who wish to bring their children to be baptised. A first step would be to attend a church service and introduce yourself, or to contact the Vicar directly.

We will help you to understand what baptism means. In it you make a commitment to Christ and to the nurture of your child in the Christian faith. As a church we promise to provide for your child to grow as part of the church.

If all you wish to do is to express your gratitude to God for the gift of a child then an alternative to baptism would be a service of Thanksgiving.

Baptisms are usually held at All Saints on the 3rd Sunday of the month at 12:30pm, and at St. Peter's on the 2nd Sunday of the month at 4pm.

General information about baptism in the Church of England may be found here.

Weddings

If you are planning to get married the best way to do so is in church in the presence of God. To say your vows "in the sight of God" concentrates the mind on the seriousness of the commitment and expresses your need for the strength and help of God in your marriage.

You can be married in church if you have some kind of connection with either St Peter's or All Saint's. For example:
+ You live in the parish
+ You come along to church regularly
+ You were christened or confirmed in the church
+ Your parents or grandparents come to church, or were married there

Both St. Peter's church and All Saints church are beautiful places to hold your wedding, take a look for yourselves. It's now even easier to organise your wedding service in church.

We believe in a loving and forgiving God and so Divorce is not barrier to being married in Church. If either of you have been divorced it's important to discuss this with the Vicar, as an opportunity to learn from the past and to move on.

Contact the Vicar as a first step in your wedding plans. For general information on marriage in the Church of England look here.

Confirmations

Young people may be prepared for confirmation at any age from school year 6 and upwards. This is normally done in a group each year or every other year, which meets weekly for about 8 weeks.

Adults may be confirmed at any age, and preparation for this may be done individually or in a group.

Contact the Vicar with any enquiries about confirmation.

For general information about confirmation in the Church of England look here.

Funerals

For many people the subject of death is a very sensitive issue. When a loved one dies we are in a state of shock and bewilderment. The Funeral Director arrives to make the funeral arrangements and will ask you if you would like to go into church for the service or go straight to the Crematorium. All you need to do is tell the Funeral Director you would like a church service.

The funeral would be a service of thanksgiving with a personal tribute to the person's life. Because of time pressures at the Crematorium, I encourage you to use the church for a short service. Obviously I hope we never need to meet under sad circumstances but if we did I want you to know that your church cares very much and wants to support and comfort you.