BAPTISMS

Baptisms in  St Peter’s

In the bible Jesus commanded his disciples to Go and make disciples, baptising them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit and to teach them, so Baptism has a wonderful and special significance to those who choose to be baptised and join the Christian family responding to God’s call to all of us to follow in the way of Jesus and belong to the Church.

If you live in our parish, you are welcome to enquire about being baptised at St Peter’s church.
Baptism is open to children and adults as long as they have not been baptised before.

Baptism services are usually held at 13:00, on the second and fourth Sunday of the month. They can be incorporated into the regular service at 11:00.

We have many requests for Baptisms, and we usually try not to baptise more than two or three people at a time, so that the service is special to the families concerned.

If you would just like more information please  contact the Parish Office.

FUNERALS at ST PETER’S

It is the usual practice to make contact with the Funeral Director in the first instance, who will be in touch with the Parish Office. They will contact the family to arrange a visit in order to discuss the service with the family. There is always provision for individual music to be played and readings to make the funeral a unique occasion.

WEDDINGS

Getting Married at St. Peter’s

“… for this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh” (Genesis 2 :24)

We pride ourselves at St Peter's that our wedding services are always 'one-off' events, and we take a great deal of time in preparation to ensure that your wedding at St Peter's will be an event to remember for all the best reasons!

Preparation

We make a great effort to help couples plan this important part of their big day, and we like to get to know them as well as possible before the wedding itself. We hold a Preparation Evening for all couples to discuss the vows you will be making in your ceremony and a Wedding Preparation Day when every aspect of your wedding requirements can be discussed.

Although the temptation is to regard marriage in church as 'doing it properly' you are specifically inviting God to bless your marriage and be part of your married life together.
http://yourchurchwedding.org/

Banns of Marriage
What are Banns of Marriage?...
Banns are part of the legal side of marriage. As the Church of England is the State Church, the minister also acts as the lawyer and performs both the legal and religious parts of the marriage.

The reading of 'banns' is a legal requirement and serves notice of intent of a couple wanting to get married. Banns are read out on 3 consecutive Sundays normally during the 9:30 service. The purpose of banns is to make sure that you are legally entitled to get married.
These will be called automatically at St Peter's but if one party is not resident in the parish banns must also be called in the parish where they reside. It is the responsibility of those getting married to arrange this and to obtain a Certificate of Calling which is given to the St Peter's Clergy. (Banns are only current for three months and without a valid certificate a marriage cannot take place.) In certain circumstances banns are inadmissible (e.g. if one party is a foreign national). Discuss this when you book your wedding.
An alternative to Banns is to be married by Common Licence, usually when there is insufficient time for them to be called but you still must have a qualifying connection with the Parish.
If you wish to discuss booking you wedding at St Peter’s contact the Parish Office as early as possible.

Who can be married?

So, how do we know if we qualify to be married at St Peter's? The Church of England has recently relaxed its rules about who can be married at the local parish church, and here are some examples to help you.
You can be married at St Peter's if...
? one or both of you live in the parish (i.e: St Peter’s or St Francis)
? your parents or grandparents live or have lived here
? you were baptised (christened) here, or have lived here for part of your life
? there is a strong connection between you and/or your family and the parish church
? or that one of your parents at any time after you were born lived in the parish or regularly worshipped at the church
? or that one of your parents or grandparents was married in the parish
Under certain circumstances couples can be married by what is called an Archbishop's Special Licence. However, this can be costly, and we would need to discuss the appropriateness of applying for a Licence with individual couples.

We are able to marry those whose previous marriage has been dissolved, but would need to explore this possibility very fully with those concerned. As an alternative, we can also offer a service of Blessing after a Civil Marriage, which can include readings, hymns and personal music or poetry which can be chosen by each couple.

In addition some wedding couples may wish to mark special milestones by renewing their marriage vows and this can be arranged with the Parish Office.

ALPHA BAPTISM COURSE

Being a Christian needs a firm foundation, so together with other Anglican churches, St Peter’s has pioneered a short Alpha course to instruct those parents who want their children baptising. Alpha is a full course for those seeking to begin their Christian journey.

So far we have found that the Alpha course is both useful for teaching the faith and helps those who take part to ask questions.

By the time of the baptism the parents and godparents are ready to make those special promises which are to last a lifetime.