Life Events
Baptisms, Weddings, Funerals, and other occasions
Please contact Rev Deborah Kirk,
Office Tel.: (01823) 275765
Home Tel.: (01823) 334854
email: deborah.m.kirk@googlemail.com
to discuss the use of Temple for a baptism, confirmation, wedding, renewing of wedding vows, funeral, or service of thanksgiving. In considering Temple for your occasion please consider what facilities or requirements you may need – we would love to help you.
Baptism and Confirmation
Baptism (or Christening) marks entry into the Christian Church.
The Methodist Church, like most denominations, offers baptism to both adults and young children. Baptism is recognized by all the other mainstream Churches that baptize infants.
An infant thanksgiving may be an alternative to consider.
A Service of Confirmation (or Membership, in the Methodist Church) can be arranged when you feel ready to take on the commitment and responsibility of Christian discipleship, and to play a full part in the life of the Church. You can become a Member of the Methodist Church at any age!
Further information:
From the Methodist Church
All This For You: The meaning of baptism in the Methodist Church
available from Methodist Publishing - Ref PA186
Liturgy for the Reaffirmation of Baptismal Faith (PDF)
From the UK government
Weddings
Your wedding is an important day in your lives, and we want to do all we can to make the marriage service a really special part of your day.
Weddings in the Methodist Church are carried out as prescribed by UK law. This would normally have to be in the civil registration district in which one of the couple lives. As part of the legal process, prospective marriage partners will need to go to the local registry office to provide the necessary documentation to show they can get married.
A church marriage is a Christian ceremony, with prayers and Bible readings reflecting Christian understandings of what marriage is about, with this in mind, we would offer a series of meetings with you to talk though the different elements of a Church Marriage, and to explore their significance.
If you choose to get married through a civil ceremony, we can also offer a Christian blessing, and later in your marriage, a ceremony in which you may renew your vows to one another before God, can also be arranged.
On 30 June 2021, and following prayerful consideration by the whole Church, the Methodist Conference voted to confirm provisional resolutions on same sex marriages conducted on Methodist premises or by Methodist office-holders. See Marriage and Relationships. Temple Methodist Church is happy to offer a Christian wedding ceremony to same sex couples.
Further information:
From the Methodist Church
From the UK government
Funerals
If you are recently bereaved please accept our condolences; our minister is here to help you.
Christians believe that the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ give them hope and cause for thanksgiving in the face of death.
In this faith we entrust those who have died to the infinite mercy and love of God.
A Methodist funeral service acknowledges this hope and offers bereaved people the opportunity to remember their loved one's life and offer them into God's care.
Whether you would like a service at the Church, or at the Crematorium - or perhaps both - please do contact Rev Deborah Kirk early on in your arrangements, as we shall need to liaise with both you and your funeral director. The funeral director will provide advice and organise many of the practical arrangements.
The minister will visit families, plan the service with you, and offer comfort and support before and after the funeral itself.
Once a year, around the time of All Souls’ Day, we hold a service in the Circuit to remember those who have gone before us. Invitations will be sent to those bereaved in the last year, and anyone is welcome to come and share in an Act of Remembrance and reflection.
Further information:
From the Methodist Church
From the UK government
Funeral directors
National Association of Funeral Directors
Bereavement