WEDDINGS, BAPTISMS, FUNERALS
WEDDINGS
We love weddings and hope you will choose to marry in one of our chuches.
You can be married in your local church where you live and also if you have what is called a ‘qualifying or special connection’ to it. So, for example, if you were baptised in this church or your parents were married there or you have lived in the Parish for at least six months, then you have a qualifying connection.
We recommend this website which explains qualiying connections and helps you with planning your wedding: www.yourchurchwedding.org
Certain rules apply if you have been divorced but you should not assume that you cannot marry again in Church here. You may be able to do so and we can help answer the question.
Please do not hesitate to ask for further information.
Wedding fees (May 2023)
The fees for weddings are set by the Church of England. Currently they are:
£641 to marry in your home church or £556 to marry in another church.
You will also need to consider the cost of any musicians, bell ringers and photographers you want.
Contact us
If you would like to consider having your wedding ceremony in one of our beautiful churches, please fill in the wedding enquiry form and our Vicar, Reverend Mandy Flaherty, will be delighted to follow up your enquiry.
BAPTISMS
Baptism (also known as 'christening') is an important rite of passage where parents celebrate the joy of new birth with others with this ancient and simple ceremony. The baptism can take place as part of a Sunday service or privately just with friends and family.
There are a few rules which mean that if you live outside of our parishes you can only be baptised here if have a "strong connection" to us and have also obtained written permission from the Vicar of the Parish Church where you currently live. This is quite common and should be simple to get.
Please contact us using the email address at the bottom of the page if you are thinking about having your child baptised.
For more information about Church of England baptisms go to churchofenglandchristenings.org
An alternative is a "Service of Thanksgiving for the Gift of a Child" if you would prefer this instead of Baptism. This allows you to mark the occasion with a formal ceremony but has a lighter touch and has less of the language and symbolism that regular church goers are more comfortable with churchofenglandchristenings.org/for-parents/thanksgiving-service
Contact us
Welcoming a new life into the world is a really exciting moment in life and if you would like to celebrate and extend that welcome with a baptism to welcome your child into the Christian church, please fill in the baptism enquiry form and our Vicar, Reverend Mandy Flaherty, will be happy to speak to you about this special event.
FUNERALS
If you live in Harston, Hauxton or Newton you are entitled to ask for a funeral service for your loved one, in the Parish Church or the crematorium; at a cemetery or a woodland or green burial site. You do not have to be a church-goer to have a funeral here.
Please contact us using the email address at the bottom of the page if you need to arrange a funeral.
Every person is unique, every life is special, every journey through death and grief is personal. And the Church of England has been supporting people through all of this for hundreds of years – and your local church is there for you…..every step of the way. This website reflects how we in our three parishes are willing to be with you ‘every step of the way’: churchofenglandfunerals.org/every-step
Here is a prayer which may help. It is taken from: churchofenglandfunerals.org/prayers
Lord of all love,
be with me today in the stillness
and comfort me as I remember my friend
Be with me as I look back,
remembering all whom I mourn,
and be with me as I look forward
to the journey that lies ahead.
Give me the strength to talk of hope
and the courage to show love.
In the name of Jesus. Amen.
Contact us
Losing a loved one is a difficult time in life and our churches want to be here to support and help you process what has happened. If, along with your funeral directors, you would like to speak to someone from the church who can help you to arrange a suitable service for the passing of your loved one, please do get in touch, via the funeral enquiry form, and our Vicar, Reverend Mandy Flaherty, will be able to help you at this difficult time.