The Church of England aims to be ‘A Christian Presence in every community.’ It is one of the great privileges of the Church to accompany, support, and bless people at some of the most intimate moments of their lives, whether moments of great celebration, or moments of deep sadness and loss. That’s why we’re here for you in Christenings, weddings, or funerals.
Christenings
Anyone can get in touch with a church to find about having their child Christened. During a Christening your child will be baptised with water. This deeply symbolic action is a ‘clothing’ in Christ, which is the beginning of a new life and identity as the beloved child of God.
“The most important day of my life was my Christening at 6 weeks old.” Rev. Michael
As the years pass, it’s a journey you’ll share together with your child by:
- Sharing in the life of the church and taking part in your local community
- Being there for your child to talk to about the bigger questions of life – questions hope, faith and meaning
- Praying for your child through the ups and downs of their faith journey and teaching them to pray
- Showing them practically how to make those good choices in life.
The day of Christening is the first day of a new life as a child of God.
Weddings
It is a privilege and a duty of a vicar to join a man and a woman in marriage. You do not need to be a churchgoer or have been Christened to be married in a church. The reasons for choosing a church wedding are many and varied, but here are a few of our favourites:
- To pray for God’s blessing: sometimes even those who aren’t sure about questions of faith, life and meaning will seek God’s blessing at key moments of life.
- For help in living out our vows: God and your local church are there for you to help cement the promises you make into daily reality.
- Celebrated by a vicar: vicars offer a unique blend of ancient tradition and modern experience. Our vicar, Rev. Michael, is very happy to make your wedding fully customisable, beautiful and meaningful to you.
- History and beauty: think of the centuries of people before you who have stood in the same spot to be married to each other. Churches also offer some of the most physically beautiful wedding venues available.
And because of who we are, there is one more completely unique reason for getting married in a church: we will always be there for you, at every stage of your life together.
Funerals
The first thing to say is to offer you our heartfelt sympathy on your loss. Grief is the hardest part of life, and the cost of great love. We will do all we can to journey beside you in these dark moments.
The first step in organising a funeral is to be in touch with a local funeral director and to let them know that you wish the funeral to be held at St Thomas’. They will then take forward all of the practical arrangements from there. In due course, the minister taking the funeral service will be in contact with you to arrange a meeting and to plan the funeral service together.
Whether you wish to have the funeral at church followed by a burial, or at church followed by cremation, or even directly to the crematorium, we can help.
On a less practical note, if you’d like to speak to us about grief, or you could just do with a chat then please do make contact with Michael our vicar.