Life Events

Life events or rites of passage are significant important acts, milestones or events we come to at key point in our lives. They mark the passage from one stage of life to another and we can choose to mark and celebrate them - celebrating the birth of a child, deciding to be a Christian for ourselves, getting married and even dying are all rites of passage or life events. We may mark these with a party, a ceremony, or a particular service in church. ‘Passage’ suggests movement and journey and a ‘rite’ is a ritual or ceremony that helps us make that movement and go on that journey.

Baptism is the rite of passage which welcomes someone into the Christian Church and represents the beginning of a new life and Christian journey. It can take place at any point in a person's life. It is the sign that someone belongs to Christ and that is why baptism is sometimes known as christening.

Confirmation is a public statement of belonging to the Christian Community. It is a rite of passage to confirm, strengthen, establish and secure the person in their Christian journey. 

A wedding is a great and very public moment in life – joyous, but also solemn as two people pledge to be with one another until the end of their lives.

A funeral marks the end of a human life on earth and there is a sense in which a funeral service is the end of a journey. However, the Church points to the journey that continues to be made as a person draws ever closer to God even after the end of their physical journey.

Find out more

Church Fees (2021 document)
Parochial Fees (2021 Church of England Table of Parochial Fees)

Contact

Revd Derek Winterburn on 020 8241 5904