I am never sure who
I am
writing to when I begin to put together these Magazine letters, or
indeed what
their content should be? Am I simply sharing thoughts and information
with
those mainly within the worshipping congregation or am I speaking to a
much wider
audience? In these days when this letter appears on our Website I
suppose it is
not unreasonable to assume that at least some people who are not
regular
members will see it.
With
that in mind I offer my thoughts this month primarily to a wider
audience
than perhaps is normal whilst retaining the hope that it might be of
interest
to those within the immediate Church family as well.
The
subject I want to address is Marriage in Church. Over the last few
years
the number of marriages taking place in Churches has declined. Within
our own
parish they have halved over the last 5 years. There are of course many
reasons
for this, including the changing age profile of the parishioners, the
competition from hotels etc. And of course the fact that more people
are
choosing not to get married. A contributory factor has also been the
strict
regulations concerning marriage within the Church of England. Hitherto,
in
essence, you had to live within the Parish or be on the Electoral Roll
in order
to qualify. It has become clear that in these days, when there is
increased
mobility, many people who looked upon Christ Church as their Church simply did
not qualify because
they had moved away from their parental homes. The Church as a whole
has
recognised this and The
Church of England Marriage Measure 2008 will
come into effect on the 1 October this year. This is the first major
change in
the rules since the Marriage Act of 1949.
What
this will mean, in summary, is that the present qualifications remain.
If
you live within the parish or you are a member of the Church (i.e. on
the
Electoral Roll) you still have the same rights to be married in your Parish Church. In
addition
however the new measure adds what it
calls “Qualifying
Connections” which
recognise that although you no
longer live within the parish this is still in a very real sense
your Church.
If therefore a person was Baptised within the parish; or has lived
within it
for at least 6 months at any stage in their lives they would qualify.
In
addition if their parents live or have lived in the parish or indeed
their
parents or grandparents were married here then that too would be a
qualifying
connection.
I do not expect this
Measure will have the immediate effect of massively
increasing the number of weddings but I do believe it will enhance the
sense in
which a particular Church is seen as “The Family’s Church” and be less
of an
obstacle to couples being able to come for their marriage than the
present
rather restrictive rules.
Clearly
this will need to be made widely known, and this letter is just one way
that we might be able to begin to share this information. If you have
the
opportunity to speak to those who might be thinking of getting married
here, or
indeed if there are members of your own family who would qualify under
these
new regulations please do tell them.
Marriage
is a vital part of the wellbeing of our society, and if the Church
here can have even a small part in setting couples off on this
particular
journey, I believe it is to be encouraged.
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