Marriage Services at St Nicholas' Church
for those whose previous marriage has been dissolved.
We
are pleased that you have approached us with a view to being married in
church.
We do in some circumstances conduct weddings where either or both
parties have been previously married.
You will, no doubt, realise that the Christian Church sees marriage as
a life-long commitment, a covenant in which we give ourselves entirely,
and not as a short term contract.
It
is because of this that we are particularly careful about arrangements
for remarriage. We are keen to try to help because God cares about a
person's whole being, and because in some circumstances it can be right
to start again. Please bear patiently with us, and we will do what we
can to help.
This page sets out our policy, which we would like you to read.
|
1. |
Any
couple applying should be prepared for exploratory meetings with one of
the clergy before any decision is made about marriage at St Nicholas'
Church. The process can take between six weeks and two months. Some
applications may need to be seen by the clergy team and the Bishop of
Newcastle consulted, as with any such request. |
|
2. |
We will need your divorce decree absolute at the beginning of any application, and will retain it during the whole process. |
|
3. |
The divorcee should have made every effort to save the previous marriage. |
|
4. |
Neither
the present relationship, nor the forming (by you) of any other
relationship should have contributed to the breakdown of the previous
marriage. |
|
5. |
Proper consideration needs to have been given to the children of former relationships. |
|
6. |
There
should be some evidence of your acknowledgement of your own need for
growth and lessons to be learned from the previous marriage. You should
be convinced that marriage is still truly a lifelong commitment. |
|
7. |
We
look for signs that you are seeking marriage in church because you
really are open to God and want his guidance. The service refers to the
bride and groom as 'servants of God'; you need to have this attitude if
you are to be sincere about Christian marriage. |
If,
after considering the above, you still feel that re-marriage in church
is what you would like us to consider, please telephone one of us to
make an appointment.
In the meantime, can we encourage you to come and try with us to be 'open to God' in one of our regular Sunday services.
We hope to be able to help you.
| Revd Hilary Savage |
714271 |
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