Rambling Rector
October 2024
Church Peculiarities
If you live in Eype, you can get married in Askerswell, but not Eype.
If you live in Askerswell, you can get married in Askerswell, but not Eype.
If you live in Pymore Terrace, west of the river Britt, you can get married in Loders, but not Bridport or Bradpole.
If you live in Pymore east of the river Britt, you can get married in Bradpole or Bridport.
If you live in Dottery, you can get married in Loders, but not Dottery, that is unless you live opposite the church, where you can get married in Salway Ash, not Dottery or Loders.
As you can gather from the above, Church rules often seem rather strange. The church still runs on a parochial system, which is location based. In many things there is often room for discretion, but not for weddings, which makes discussions with wedding couples interesting at times. Not only is a wedding a time when the physical boundaries are important, it is also a time when the boundary between church and state become blurred. A priest acts as a registrar at a wedding service as well as a priest presiding over one of the seven sacraments of the Church of England. Yet, despite this, a priest is only allowed to officiate at a wedding in a Church of England church building, as long as it has been licensed for weddings. He (or she), cannot act as priest and registrar at a licensed wedding location, such as the to the barn in Symondsbury. A council registrar can act at places such as this, but not in a church, Post covid the law has changed to allow wedding to take place in a churchyard, as long as it is within the boundary of the church.
In this benefice, Askerswell, Loders, Powerstock, North Poorton and Symondsbury are licensed for weddings, as they are, or have been parish churches. However, Dottery, Broadoak and Eype are not licensed. They were built as 'chapels of ease' and remain within the parish boundary of Loders (Dottery) and Symondsbury (Broadoak and Eype). This summer has seen two weddings take place in Eype, which under normal circumstances cannot happen. In each case the coupe have had to apply to the office of the Archbishop of Canterbury for a special licence, outlining why Eype church is special to them. The default position from the church is that it has discharged its duty to provide a church to marry in by providing the parish church (Symondsbury), and it is up to the couple to demonstrate the link to the church in question. This is the same procedure that somebody would have to undergo if they wanted to get married in hospital due to serious illness. Again, the hospital is not normally licensed for weddings, but the archbishops office can grant permission.
As for the right of a person to get married in a church, they need to have what in church las is termed a 'qualifying connection'. There are several, and one can usually be found, although it might take a little effort from the couple wanting to get married. The common qualifying connections are:
That you live in the parish for 6 months.
That you were baptised or confirmed in the parish.
That one of your parents has lived in the parish for more that 6 months during your lifetime.
That your parents or grandparents were married in the church.
That you habitually attend public worship for at least six months in the church you wish to marry in.
That you live in the parish for 7 days and apply to the superintendent registrar of births, deaths and marriages for a licence.
As you can imagine, I can only give an overview in this short piece, but if you have any questions, please do not hesitate in getting in touch. It is possible for somebody who has been previously divorced, to remarry in church.
Funerals are very different, it is only those who live or die in the parish that are entitled to be buried in the parish. Unlike weddings, the incumbent, in conjunction with the Parochial Church Council, does have discretion for others to be buried in the parish. There does, however need to be strong links with the parish, which may go back many years. The oddity here is that the day somebody goes into a care home, outside the parish, they lose their right to a funeral in said parish, although it would be a pretty tough decision to deny somebody who has lived there for a significant period of time. I am not sure I know any vicar who would be that strict in enforcing the rules. If somebody died in the parish, say in a car accident and they came from another country, the priest with the 'cure of souls' has a duty to provide a Christian funeral. Again, this is a little bit of the merger between church and state. One thing the Rambling Record likes about both of these special offices, is that he is not a judge of somebody's faith. If somebody has enough faith to ask for a Christian wedding or funeral, they can have one.
Baptisms have very few rules, other than it is up to the incumbent to ensure everyone is suitably prepared. This is also a service that requires a commonly overlooked commitment for the baptised to take their place in the life and worship of the church. The Rambling Record always lives in hope that he will see the baptised coming to church as they grow.
Rev Chris