Life Events

Baptisms

The baptism of infants is a very important occasion for families and serves, not only to mark the reception of the newly baptised into the body of Christ (the Church), but also to celebrate and gather as a family to rejoice in the birth of a new baby.

In baptism the candidate is joining the church family and starting out on their journey of faith. Because of this baptisms will usually take place in the Sunday morning services so the community of faith can support and celebrate with you.

At a baptism, three things happen:

We give thanks for the family of the child
As a sign of God’s love, baptism in water is given in the name of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit
Parents and Godparents commit themselves to the care and nurture of the newly baptised

Before your child’s baptism, we will invite you to spend some time with us in church so that you can see who we are and what we’re about, we will also ask you to attend a baptism preparation session, together with other parents. This is an informal, fun session lasting an hour and a half on a Sunday afternoon, looking at what baptism is, the promises we make, the service itself and eating a fair amount of cake!

Baptisms aren’t all about the little ones! Baptism is also a very important event for adults that have come to faith, it is the opportunity to make a public commitment to God and celebrate with family and friends. If possible we encourage adults to explore baptism and confirmation together. The adult being baptised will be asked to work with the Ministry Team to do some preparation in the run up to the service.

For more information about baptisms, please contact Revd Suzanne.

Confirmation

Confirmation marks the point in the Christian journey when you affirm your faith and your intention to live a life of committed discipleship. This is confirmed through prayer and the laying-on-of-hands by the confirming Bishop. The Church also asks God to give you power through the Holy Spirit to enable you to live in the way of Jesus.

There is no problem if you haven’t already been baptised as this can be done as part of the Confirmation Service.

For more information about confirmation, please contact Revd Suzanne.

Weddings

For Christians, marriage is an invitation to share life together in the Spirit of Jesus Christ. It is based upon a solemn, public and life-long covenant declared and celebrated in the presence of God and before witnesses.

We welcome the opportunity to marry couples at St. Luke’s Church. To qualify, one of you must:

Either live in the parish or be on the church electoral roll (which requires 6 months of habitual attendance)
Have been baptised or prepared for confirmation in the parish
Have at some time lived in the parish for six months or more
Have at some time regularly attended public worship in the parish for six months or more
Have a parent who has have lived in the parish for six months or more in your lifetime
Have a parent who has regularly attended public worship in the parish for six months or more in your lifetime
Have parents or grandparents who were married in the parish

For more information about weddings, please contact Revd Suzanne.

Funerals

We seek to provide pastoral support for all who are bereaved. We take funerals and memorial services for members of our community, past and present.

We can conduct a funeral service in church followed by cremation or burial. Alternatively, it’s possible to have the whole service at the Crematorium or Cemetery Chapel.

The funeral directors will arrange the date and time of the funeral with Revd Suzanne, but it helps to check her availability as soon as possible.

For more information about funerals, please contact Revd Suzanne.

You’ll also find some helpful information about what happens at Baptism, Wedding and Funeral services on the Church of England website.