Weddings
We are part of the
Anglican Church of England. This means that our
priests are registered as 'Clerks in Holy Orders'.
They act as registrars at weddings as well as
conduct the Christian ceremony.
The Church of England
has relaxed the rules concerning which church you can be
married in. If you live in the parish of Dudley Wood and
Cradley Heath you can get married at St John's church.
Or if you wish you can get married in another church if
you have a connection with it - (there is quite a long
list of qualifying connections).
A wedding day is one of
the most important days in a couple's life together and
many people value the opportunity to make their vows
before God and seek His blessing on their relationship.
We can help you through the necessary legal process and
give advice on other aspects of your special day. We
really enjoy hosting a wedding and particularly like to
make it a personalised service for you to remember.
At present, the total
cost of getting married in our church is just under
£700. This can vary depending on what you choose to have
as part of the ceremony. We add another £50 if you would
like us to provide the orders of service.
www.achurchnearyou.com
Nowadays, anyone
wanting to video the ceremony is required to have a
licence. Information about this can be found at
www.wvrl.co.uk There are also added costs for this.
Another useful website is www.yourchurchwedding.org
Prince
William and Catherine Middleton's prayer as they married
in April 2011.
Why not make
it your own.
God our Father, we thank you for our families; for the
love that we share and for the joy of our marriage.
In the busyness of each day keep our eyes fixed on what
is real and important in life and help us to be generous
with our time and love and energy.
Strengthened by our union help us to serve and comfort
those who suffer. We ask this in the Spirit of Jesus
Christ. Amen.
(Copyright of
St James's Palace)
If you would like
further information or would like to book an appointment
to speak to someone about getting married, please speak
to the Vicar:-
Revd Alicia Baker 01384
591096 aliciabakeruk@btinternet.com
Baptisms
Baptism can happen at any age. In baptism, we thank
God for his gift of life and publicly acknowledge
his love. A baptism also marks the decision to start
yourself or your child on the journey of faith which
involves turning away from all that is ungodly and
turning towards Christ and becoming a member of the
local and worldwide Christian family.
When we baptise babies and young children, it is the
parents and god-parents who make promises on behalf of
their children.
Baptism is a 'sacrament' (holy ritual to symbolise
grace) in the Christian tradition that is traced back in
the pages of the Bible to Jesus himself being
baptised in the river Jordan.
In Baptism we use three symbols:- water is used as a
symbolic washing away of the old and the new birth into
the family of God; oil is a symbol of belonging to
Christ; and a candle is given as a sign of the light of
Christ in the life of the newly-baptised person.
You can have a baptism at St John's Church if you live
within the parish boundary (see www.achurchnearyou.com
to find out) or if you worship in the church, or if you
have another personal reason (maybe this was the church
you were married in) But in this case you will need
permission from your local parish priest.
Sometimes people feel they are not quite ready to accept
all that the Christian faith means but they would still
like to mark the birth of their child. If that is the
case we offer a thanksgiving ceremony. Here people can
offer thanks for the gift of their child and ask for
God's blessing. If this is what you would like please
come and speak to us.
Confirmation marks the point in the Christian journey
where those who have been baptised as children make a
firm commitment for themselves to Christian
discipleship. Through prayer and the laying on of hands
by a Bishop, the Church also asks God to give those
being confirmed power, through the Holy Spirit, to live
the life of discipleship.
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