Life Events

It is always a very great privilege to be involved with people at the special moments of their lives such as for weddings, baptisms and funerals.

If you would like to arrange a wedding, service, funeral or baptism please contact Sharon Goble on 01608 682 282 or John Horton on 01789 459241 or email admin@stourdene.org.

Marriage

Congratulations on your engagement and we look forward to being part of your wedding plans. 
 
We hope to accommodate all wedding enquiries that come to us.  We have a legal obligation to establish your connection with the parish so that you can be married here.  The website yourchurchwedding.com clearly outlines those criteria.  Please be assured that if you or one of your parents can regularly worship with us for at least six months then you have met the criteria and we can go ahead with plans.  As soon as you are ready to look at available dates and make plans, please contact us.  We look forward to getting to know you.
 
Wedding Fees
The Church of England updates its fees for use across the country every year, some additional fees are required if you choose to have an organist or bellringers.
 
Banns
If you are getting married in another Church of England church but live in one of the parishes of Stourdene benefice, you will need us to call your banns. This means that on three consecutive weeks within the three months leading up to the date of your wedding, in a worship service we use the formula of words:  I publish the banns of marriage between… and …  If anyone knows and reason why these two person may not be joined together in marriage, you are to declare it.  We will sign a certificate for you to present to the parish priest who is conducting your wedding.  There is a small legal fee required as set by the Church of England table of fees which is updated annually. 

Baptism

Baptism (aka Christening) is open to all and free!  Whether you are parents wanting a baptism for your child, or an adult thinking about baptism for yourself, we look forward to journeying with you in Christian faith and welcoming you into God’s family, the Church.

It makes most sense for families bringing their children for baptism to do so in the church where they will be easily able to continue to worship. At Stourdene we would welcome you with open arms!... and we work hard at making our pattern of worship as all age friendly as possible with our most user-friendly services for families being either called Family Worship or All Age Worship.

If you would like to find out more and make plans for the baptism of you and/or your child, contact us and we would be pleased to arrange to meet with you.

Please also see our links for confirmation and Christianity Explored.

Confirmation

Confirmation is a wonderful opportunity to own the Christian faith for yourself and express your belonging and calling to live a life of faith following Jesus’ way. Confirmation offers opportunity to really think through what it means to be a disciple of Jesus and you are invited to prepare for a special service when the Bishop lays hands on you and prays for you to be filled with the Holy Spirit, empowering you in your discipleship. If you have been considering confirmation or would like to begin to, we look forward to you contacting us.

One of the ways you might prepare for confirmation would be to attend our Christianity Explored course.

Funerals

The clergy are most often contacted through the funeral directors who are working with families to make arrangements for funerals, thanksgivings and celebration of life.  If you would like immediate support in your bereavement, or would like to talk through your funeral plan, then please do not hesitate to contact the clergy team.

Use this link for the Church of England for helpful advice and resources to help you plan a funeral or similar. The Church of England sets fees for services which are reviewed annually.

Burial of Ashes (aka Internment of Cremated Remains)

When you are ready to reach another point of closure, you might want to arrange for a burial of ashes in one of our churchyards.  You can arrange this through the funeral directors, or by contacting the clergy team or churchwardens. There is a fee for this which is set annually by the Church of England.

Churchyard Regulations for Memorial Stones

Churchyards are shared public spaces and for this reason there are regulations which limits the choice of stone, colour, size and lettering of memorial stones. Families apply for memorial stones through the stonemasons to our administrator and the Rector signs agreement for all those applications which are within the guidelines.  If the request is outside of those regulations then there are still possible avenues to apply for your preferences which are then looked at by the Diocesan Registrar.

Marriage in the Stourdene Benefice

It is always a very great privilege to be involved with people at the special moments of their lives