Getting Married

God invented marriage, and gave it as a gift to all mankind to enable the joining together of one man and one woman for life. We welcome enquires about weddings! A church wedding is a legal as well as a Christian ceremony.  To find out more, please check the FAQs below or contact us.

In order to fulfil the legal requirements people usually must be married by Banns (notice of the wedding being given over three Sundays).

If one of you lives within our parish and neither of you has been married before and you are both UK or EEA citizens you can be married here by Banns.

You can check to see if you live within the ecclesiastical parish of Lindow by visiting this website. In certain other circumstances, you may still be able to be married here: please see the questions below.

Please contact the Vicar to make an initial enquiry. A date for your wedding cannot be confirmed until you have spoken to the Vicar. You will be given a Banns of Marriage Application Form to fill in and return (even if not marrying by banns). You will then receive a letter containing information to help you prepare for getting married at St John’s. This will include:

  • Confirmation of the time & date of your wedding
  • A date and time to meet with the Vicar to look through the wedding service
  • A date and time for a rehearsal
  • The Highway Code for Marriage (book by Michael & Hilary Perrott) – a practical, short and wise book to help you prepare for marriage

… we don’t live in the parish, and have no links with St. John’s?

Yes, if you attend church regularly for six months in order to qualify for membership of the Electoral Roll. You then marry by Banns.

… we don’t live in the parish, but have links with St. John’s?

Yes, if you have a “qualifying connection” you may marry here by Banns. The legally defined connections are that one of you:

  • was baptised or prepared for confirmation in the parish;
  • has ever lived in the parish for six months or more;
  • has at any time regularly attended public worship in the parish for six months or more;
  • has a parent or parents who lived in the parish for six months or more in your lifetime;
  • has a parent or parents who regularly attended public worship here for six months or more in your lifetime;
  • has a parent or grandparent who was married in the parish.

… we don’t live in the parish or near enough to worship regularly, but have a link that isn’t a “qualifying connection”?

It may be possible for you to be married by an Archbishop’s Special Licence. You will need to demonstrate a ‘genuine and long-standing connection with the church’. If the Vicar agrees to your being married this way, you will need to apply for the licence from:

The Faculty Office, 1 The Sanctuary, Westminster, London SW1P 3JT

tel: 020 7222 5381

web: www.facultyoffice.org.uk

… one of us is not a UK citizen?

If you would otherwise be entitled to marry in the parish you will usually need to apply for a Common Licence. Please check with your own consular authorities that your marriage here will be recognised in your own country. These are always special cases, and we would ask the Diocesan Registrar for advice on your behalf.

… one of us has been divorced?

If either of you has been married before and then divorced from a partner who is still living, then we cannot marry you at St John’s. We understand that many people will find this hard and upsetting, and we will gladly meet with you to explain why we believe that Jesus’ teaching makes this necessary. Each parish minister makes his or her own policy on this, so you will find parishes differ widely.

Getting Baptised

We love to welcome both children and adults into our faith community.  If you would like to enquire about baptism, please check the FAQs below or contact us.

This page is to help you concerning a service for your child at St John’s Church. Congratulations if you have had a recent addition to your family, but don’t worry if the child is older. We hope that you and your family will find a warm welcome here.

The birth of a child is always a special time and many parents, like yourselves, want to mark the occasion with a service in church. We want to help you to do this.

When we are given a gift, it is right to say ‘thank you’. The Bible says, ‘children are a gift from the Lord’ – and so we should thank him for them. Traditionally, parents brought their children to give thanks to God in a special church service.

Although it has fallen out of use in many churches, the first thing we will arrange with you is this opportunity to say ‘thank you’ to the Lord – we call this a Thanksgiving Service.

The Thanksgiving Service is included within the main morning service at 10am at St John’s.

The Bible says that on one occasion, Jesus ‘took … children in his arms, put his hands on them and blessed them.’ In the Thanksgiving Service, we follow Jesus’ example. We will thank God for your child and ask for his blessing for him or her.

You may invite sponsors, and we will give you a certificate to mark the occasion. This service does not require you or the sponsors to make any promises. The service is free, and an application form is available – please contact us.

Most parents come to us asking ‘can I have my child christened?’ (or ‘baptised’, which is the same thing).

In the Baptism Service, parents and godparents make important promises before God. These include a commitment to regular church-going as an example to your child, and a declaration that you are a committed follower of Jesus Christ yourself. For this reason, you may decide that the Thanksgiving Service by itself is right for you.

If however, after the Thanksgiving Service, you want to explore the possibility of baptism for your child, we will gladly help you to do this – please have a word with Simon Gales or contact us.

To arrange a Thanksgiving Service, please contact us. On the date the agreed for the service, please arrive 10 minutes early.

In the meantime, why not start coming to church if you don’t already? On Sundays you and your family will find a warm welcome at the 10am service at St John’s. We also run a toddler group during the week.