The United Benefice of Knights Enham and Smannell with Enham Alamein

Weddings, Baptisms & Funerals

Most Weddings and Baptisms are held at the Parish Church of St. Michael and All Angels in Knights Enham, but Baptisms particularly can also be held during the main Service in the Church Centre.

For all queries regarding weddings, baptisms or funerals, please contact the Priest in Charge, Revd Andrew Ashdown. (01264) 357032.

E-Mail: andrew@knightsenham.org.uk. We will be pleased to hear from you.

BAPTISMS

Baptism is a wonderful celebration of the gift of life, and of receiving a child, or adult, into the family of the Church. Baptisms take place on certain Sundays, either at St. Michael's Church, or during a Service in the Church Centre, when the family of the Church can share the celebration and be there to welcome the child into our midst.

You will need to be in touch with the Priest in Charge, who will check availability of dates, and arrange to see you to go through the Service with you.

If you choose to have a Baptism Service outside the main Church Service times, the section of the service known as the 'Welcome into the family of the Church', will take place at the Informal Service on the first Sunday of the following month, when your child will also receive their Baptism Certificate.

A number of preparation evenings are available for you to attend, specially designed for parents and Godparents to help explore your and the child/Godchild’s commitment to the Christian Faith. The service and the meaning will be fully explained and you will have the opportunity of confirming all of the arrangements.

Some planned dates for these evening’s are as follows;

Wed 7th January 2009

Thu 19th March 2009

Thu 30th April 2009

Tues 9th June 2009

Wed 22nd July 2009

Wed 9th September 2009

Tue 20th October 2009

WEDDINGS

Once you have decided to get married, you will need to get in touch as soon as possible with the Priest in Charge to arrange a Marriage date. The date is likely to be considered in conjunction with finding out venue availability for Wedding Receptions, which can be heavily booked up months or even years in advance! So the sooner you choose and confirm the date, the better.

The Priest in Charge will arrange to meet you privately to take down details; to discuss preliminary arrangements; and to get to know you a little. Nearer the time, you will be invited to a Marriage Preparation meeting, when, in a very informal and relaxed way, we shall look in more depth at issues relating to Marriage; go through the Marriage Service in detail; and give you all the information you need to prepare for the Marriage itself. Before the Marriage itself, there will be a rehearsal in the Church when we shall go through all that you need to do in the service.

RE-MARRIAGE

Where either or both parties have been married before, we can consider a Marriage Service in Church, but you will need to see the priest to discuss things first. If your new relationship is a direct cause of the previous marital breakdown, the Church will not allow a Marriage Service. Nor does Church law allow a Marriage Service for any person who has twice been previously married. However, in any of these circumstances, we welcome couples to consider a Service of Blessing, which is very special and which contains many of the same elements to the Marriage Service. Please feel free to discuss this.

DEATHS

Ministry around the time of death is a very important and deeply sensitive matter for everyone concerned. It can be an emotionally overwhelming time for everyone involved. All parishioners are entitled to have a funeral in their Parish Church or have their parish priest conduct the funeral service at a Crematorium. To arrange a funeral after a death, the first point of contact is the Funeral Director, who will then liaise with the priest about practical arrangements. However, the pastoral contact between Parish priest and parishioner is vital. The Priest will always visit family members as soon as he is informed of a death, and will meet in their home to talk things through and discuss the funeral service. He is also very willing at any time to visit the sick and the dying in hospital, and to be present with the family at any point along the journey prior to, during, or after the funeral service.

For further information about any of these life events, please click on the icons below.