Benefice of Ropley, Bishop’s Sutton and West Tisted

Baptisms, Weddings and Funerals

Baptisms

A christening (also known as baptism) is always an exciting event and we would love to welcome you and your family and celebrate with you.  
The first stage is contacting the vicar who will usually ask you to come along to one of our family friendly services where there’ll be a chance to chat over coffee afterwards, fill in some details and find out more about what’s involved. Christening services can be held in any of the three churches in the benefice. The best thing to do is get in touch by phone or email and we’ll help you through the process but for more information about christenings you can have a look at: 

Weddings

A wedding is an exciting time, both for the couple getting married and for our churches. 

If you live in the parish of one of our three churches and you have not previously been married, you are automatically entitled to be married there. If you live outside the parish you would need to have a ‘qualifying connection’ with the church. Some examples of these are that you were baptized in the parish; you or your parents (in your lifetime) lived in the parish or habitually worshipped in the parish for at least six months; or your parents or grandparents were married in the parish. You can establish a qualifying connection by worshiping regularly with us for six months before you get married.  

If one of you has been married before it is usually still possible to be married in church but you will need to talk through the details with our Vicar.
 
For more information on getting married in the Church of England, visit https://www.yourchurchwedding.org/

Funerals

If someone you know and love has died, a funeral led by a Church of England minister can be held in church, in a churchyard, by a graveside, or at a crematorium. The minister will be there to support you every step of the way.
 
Please contact our Vicar to arrange a funeral.
 
More information can be found here on the church of England website.