We pride ourselves on giving you the best of beginnings, by helping you prepare carefully for your Marriage Service, and by trying to meet your needs as best we can.
Who may marry at Emmanuel Parish Church?
Under English Law you may only be married in the parish church in which either the bride or groom live or in a parish church in which at least one attends. Therefore in order to be married at Emmanuel Parish Church either one or both of you must be resident in the parish. If you do not live in the parish you may still be married at the church - but you must agree to attend church regularly for a period of at least 6 months prior to your wedding - this means that you both or at least one of you must make a commitment to attend church throughout the period from the booking of your wedding until you are married. We do not expect that you will attend every week - but certainly at least once or twice a month. You will after 6 months be asked to complete a form requesting to be placed on the Churches electoral roll - this then records that you are a regular member of the parish church. Please note that if you fail to attend church on a regular basis for the required period I may have no alternative than to cancel your booking.
New rules allow you to be married in a church outside your own parish if you can prove that you have some qualifying connection with the church.
You have a Qualifying Connection if you:
one of your parents has at any time during your lifetime:
had their usual place of residence in the parish for at least 6 months;
In order that we are able to keep a record that you are attending church regularly we ask that you join our envelope scheme – we give you a pack of small envelopes in which you put your collection when you attend church rather than put it straight on to the collection plate. If you are a tax payer we ask you to fill in the front of the envelope this allows us to reclaim tax. If we are asked to show proof that you have attended church (which we can legally be asked to do) this will then be possible. We hope you will assist us in this – and the money you give will also go towards keeping the doors of Emmanuel Church open for future generations.
Times of Sunday services are as follows: 8.30am, 10.30am & 6.30pm (details of the services can be found on the worship page of this website)
What if one or both parties have been married and divorced?
The Church of England has set guidelines that allow Clergy to marry people who have been divorced. You will need to be prepared to discuss with the Vicar the circumstances of the breakdown of the first marriage and to supply a copy of your decree absolute. The decision to offer marriage under these circumstances is at the discretion of the Vicar.