Qualification for marriage
Can we get married at St Mary's? The answer is a little more complex than you may at first think according to the current law governing marriages in Church.
All applicants must download, print and complete the Qualifying Connection form.
The rules in brief are:
If neither of you has been married before
You may be married at St Mary's if any of the following apply to at least one of you:
1. You are resident in the Parish of Old Basing & Lychpit; Check the parish boundary here (Find Us tab). This map is only a rough guide though so, if in doubt, double check with the Parish Administrator or Vicar.
2. You are not resident in the parish but worship at St Mary's and have done so habitually for at least six months and are on the Electoral Roll of the Church;
3. You are not resident in the parish but wish to be married by Special Licence, which means you have a sufficient and strong pastoral reason to be married at St Mary's and not your parish church.
4. You have a “Qualifying Connection” to the church. You can get an idea if this applies to you by using the following checklist. Do any of the following apply to you?
(a) I was baptised in the parish (by a Church of England service/formof baptism)
(b) I have been confirmed (by a Church of England service) and my confirmation is entered in a register belonging to a church or chapel in the parish
(c) My parent or grandparent was married in the parish by a Church of England service
(d) I have had my usual place of residence in the parish for at least 6 months
(e) My parent has had his or her usual place of residence in the parish for at least 6 months during my lifetime
(f) I have habitually attended public worship at Church of England services in the parish for at least 6 months
(g) My parent has habitually attended public worship at Church of England services in the parish for at least 6 months during my lifetime
If none of these categories apply to you then you should approach your local Church, who no doubt will be delighted to help and celebrate your marriage.
Those whose previous marriage has been dissolved
If either of you has been married before, the concern of the Church is that, if you are to be married in church for a second time, you are clear, as far as you can know, why a Church wedding is important to you. You should first consider carefully the following questions:
1. How have you dealt with healing the personal and social wounds that have arisen from your marriage breakdown?
2. Are you ready to enter wholeheartedly and responsibly into a new marriage relationship?
3. How would your proposed new marriage be received by those who are close to you (especially any children) and other individuals?
4. Is your proposed new marriage at all related to the breakdown of your first marriage, if so, how? Would your proposed marriage consecrate an old infidelity?
5. Are you ready to explore the significance of the Christian faith for your lives so that your marriage is not an isolated contact with the Church?
As clergy we are asked to satisfy ourselves that you are clear about the meaning and purpose of marriage. These questions are all significant and should be thought through carefully. In respect of point (5) I would expect that you would be worshipping regularly over a period of time at St Mary’s prior to booking a date for a wedding. This will also involve participating in one of the courses that cover the basic tenets of the Christian faith which are run regularly at St Mary’s.
Fr Andrew
Can we get married at St Mary's? The answer is a little more complex than you may at first think according to the current law governing marriages in Church.
All applicants must download, print and complete the Qualifying Connection form.
The rules in brief are:
If neither of you has been married before
You may be married at St Mary's if any of the following apply to at least one of you:
1. You are resident in the Parish of Old Basing & Lychpit; Check the parish boundary here (Find Us tab). This map is only a rough guide though so, if in doubt, double check with the Parish Administrator or Vicar.
2. You are not resident in the parish but worship at St Mary's and have done so habitually for at least six months and are on the Electoral Roll of the Church;
3. You are not resident in the parish but wish to be married by Special Licence, which means you have a sufficient and strong pastoral reason to be married at St Mary's and not your parish church.
4. You have a “Qualifying Connection” to the church. You can get an idea if this applies to you by using the following checklist. Do any of the following apply to you?
(a) I was baptised in the parish (by a Church of England service/formof baptism)
(b) I have been confirmed (by a Church of England service) and my confirmation is entered in a register belonging to a church or chapel in the parish
(c) My parent or grandparent was married in the parish by a Church of England service
(d) I have had my usual place of residence in the parish for at least 6 months
(e) My parent has had his or her usual place of residence in the parish for at least 6 months during my lifetime
(f) I have habitually attended public worship at Church of England services in the parish for at least 6 months
(g) My parent has habitually attended public worship at Church of England services in the parish for at least 6 months during my lifetime
If none of these categories apply to you then you should approach your local Church, who no doubt will be delighted to help and celebrate your marriage.
Those whose previous marriage has been dissolved
If either of you has been married before, the concern of the Church is that, if you are to be married in church for a second time, you are clear, as far as you can know, why a Church wedding is important to you. You should first consider carefully the following questions:
1. How have you dealt with healing the personal and social wounds that have arisen from your marriage breakdown?
2. Are you ready to enter wholeheartedly and responsibly into a new marriage relationship?
3. How would your proposed new marriage be received by those who are close to you (especially any children) and other individuals?
4. Is your proposed new marriage at all related to the breakdown of your first marriage, if so, how? Would your proposed marriage consecrate an old infidelity?
5. Are you ready to explore the significance of the Christian faith for your lives so that your marriage is not an isolated contact with the Church?
As clergy we are asked to satisfy ourselves that you are clear about the meaning and purpose of marriage. These questions are all significant and should be thought through carefully. In respect of point (5) I would expect that you would be worshipping regularly over a period of time at St Mary’s prior to booking a date for a wedding. This will also involve participating in one of the courses that cover the basic tenets of the Christian faith which are run regularly at St Mary’s.
Fr Andrew