WEDDINGS

Many congratulations on your engagement and we look forward to being part of your wedding plans. 

We actively try 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.

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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.  

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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 any reason why these two persons 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.

BAPTISMS

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 inclusive and intergenerational 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 to talk about what baptism means and what to do next.

Please also see our links for confirmation.

CONFIRMATIONS

Confirmation is a wonderful occasion to own the Christian faith for yourself and express your belonging and calling to live a life of faith following Jesus’ way.  Those who have been baptised as children will have had promises made on your behalf by your parents and godparents.  Perhaps now it is time to publicly own those promises to follow Jesus for yourself and express your belonging to do so as part of the Anglican church.  Preparing for confirmation offers opportunity to really think through what it means to be a disciple of Jesus before you are invited to a special service when a 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

Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life.  Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.”

The clergy team are here to come alongside those who are grieving the death of a loved one, and to speak words of faith and hope into the sadness of loss.   Prayer is our best resource and we will be praying for you and offer to support you before, during and after a funeral. If we do not already know you and your situation, 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.

Once we have been notifed of a death for which funeral arrangements are being made, the clergy will contact the family to offer support and arrange to meet and talk through the shape and contents of the service.  It is our privilege to hear the stories of the person you love and are remembering at this point of closure.  We aim to personalise the service to represent the one we are remembering, but also to be of comfort and hope to those who do the remembering.  We welcome voices from family and friends and can facilitate those varied contributions or represent them on your behalf.

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.

church of england funerals.

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. In many listed  historic churches do not allow the use of granite headstones, Hornton, Limestone and Portland stone being recommended.

Stonemasons will be able to recommend suitable styles. 

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. The detailed Diocese of Coventry churchyard regulations are here.

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