Enquiry Evening

We have an enquiry evening every Monday (except Bank Holidays) 7:30-8:15pm in church for booking baptisms and weddings. There will be someone there to answer your questions and make all the arrangements. Some basic information is given below.

Baptisms

Baptism is the way in which we welcome children into the Christian faith, as a member of the Church of England. They usually take place on the second Sunday of the month at 1pm and lasts about half an hour. There is no charge for baptism, although we do take a collection at the service.

You must attend and bring your child along to, at least one of our church services before the baptism service. You'll find a very warm welcome particularly at our 11:15 service where you'll meet lots of other parents and young children. You will be more relaxed and able to enjoy the baptism service if you and the baby feel at home in the church building. There will also be a meeting in the Parish Rooms about the service. You will be told the date for this when you come to enquiry evening.

Godparents
The choice of godparents is an important part of baptism. Godparents must be baptised and people you feel will support your child in their life journey. People normally choose three and sometimes four godparents.

What baptism means
Baptism marks the beginning of a journey with God which continues for the rest of our lives, the first step in response to God's love. It is a joyful moment when we rejoice in what God has done for us in Christ, making serious promises and declaring our Christian faith. The wider community of the local church and friends welcome the new Christian, promising support and prayer for the future. Hearing and doing these things provides an opportunity to remember our own baptism and reflect on the progress made on that journey, which is now to be shared with this new member of the Church.

Baptism is the first step in the Christian journey and we are here to support you and your child on the further steps of that journey. We welcome you to join us in our services as we pray with you for the health and growth of your child.

Weddings

A church wedding is a way for a couple to express their life-long commitment to each other. To prepare for your wedding there will be a meeting including a session led by a RELATE counsellor about things that you as a couple need to think about in this new relationship. In addition we have a morning to sort out rehearsal dates and provide advice on hymns. The dates for these will be given when you come to enquiry evening.

Who can get married at St Nicholas?
If neither of you has been married before and one of the couple getting married (or a parent) lives in the Parish of Codsall or Codsall Wood we can just take your booking.

If this is not the case, you'll need to attend church for a period of 6 months to qualify. We will usually take a provisional booking once you have attended for a couple of months. We ask you to attend at least twice a month and we suggest coming to our weekly 11:15 service.

Do you remarry divorcees?
We are happy to talk to you about the possibility of remarrying in church. One of you must live in the parish. We will want to discuss with you what is different about this new marriage. We also encourage you to attend church regularly, as part of the preparation for your remarriage. Please ring Simon, the vicar, to arrange for a time to speak about this.

Banns
This is the legal method by which we acquire the license to perform your wedding. Banns have to be read here at St Nicholas, and if one of you lives in another parish in that parish as well. It is your responsibility to arrange to have your banns read in the other parish. It is worth contacting them well ahead of your wedding date to ensure that they are read. The other parish will need to charge to you, for providing a certificate to prove that the banns have been read. We encourage you to come along to the service here at St Nicholas to hear the reading of your banns.

The service
We normally conduct weddings on a Saturday, when the wedding times are 12pm, 1:30pm and 3pm. We understand the difficulties in booking receptions, etc so try to be flexible on dates. You are asked to choose up to three hymns to be sung during the service. We will also talk to you about music as part of our wedding preparation sessions and will provide you with a list of frequently requested hymns. Except during Lent and Advent there will be some flowers in church, but you are welcome to provide additional flowers. Further details will be given at enquiry evening.

PCC fees for Marriage Service & calling banns Building support costs Verger and administration Clergy Fee (to Diocese) - service & banns RELATE Marriage Preparation course Organist	£134 £75 £80 £135 £35 £68
Total, without extras	£527
Choir (if required) Bells (if required)	£60 £110	including £20 bell maintenance
Total, with choir and bells	£697
Video - copyright charge	£30	if you wish to make a video recording

Wedding blessings
We are very happy to carry out wedding blessings, where the couple repeat their wedding vows. Increasingly, people choose to get married abroad, and a wedding blessing is a good way of allowing friends and family to celebrate the wedding, once the couple have returned from their honeymoon. Wedding blessings are also a good way of celebrating significant anniversaries.