If you would like to discuss a special service to help you say goodbye and give thanks for the person you have lost, please get in touch with Stewart: {email_encode:stewartdeering@sherborneswithpamber.org,link=stewartdeering@sherborneswithpamber.org}

We can also discuss burials, interments of ashes and memorial stones in one of our churchyards.

For guidance on burials please see this PDF from the Church of England website.

For regulations regarding memorial stones please see this PDF.

We’re delighted you are interested in getting married in our parish. Because getting married gives you a whole new legal status with many benefits, there are considerations for the vicar to make in both UK civil and church law.

Contact Stewart for an initial conversation about what might be possible for you: {email_encode:stewartdeering@sherborneswithpamber.org,link=stewartdeering@sherborneswithpamber.org}

By choosing to get married in church you get much more than a beautiful venue! A church wedding adds a spiritual dimension to your marriage. The ceremony includes God and looks to him for blessing, help and guidance. The vows and promises you make in the presence of all your family and friends are also made in the presence of God who will help you to keep them and live them out in the years to come.

Marriage Preparation

The promises you make on your wedding day seal your love and commitment to each other for the rest of your lives, so it makes sense to spend some time thinking about the words and all that they mean.

You may have known each other for a long time already, but the promises and declarations you make on your wedding day are some of the biggest promises you will ever make.

Each year we offer a Marriage Prep Day for all couples getting married in one of our churches, details will be published here once confirmed. 

Banns

Here’s your essential guide to Church of England banns:

• Banns are an announcement in church of your intention to marry and a chance for anyone to put forward a reason why the marriage may not lawfully take place.
• Banns are an ancient legal tradition and have been read out every week in churches across the land for millions of couples, over many centuries.
• After your forthcoming marriage is announced, the congregation may be invited to pray for you both. It can be quite special and moving to hear this, so do go along if you can.
• Banns need to be read in the parish where each of you lives as well as the church in which you are to be married, if that is somewhere else.
• You must have your banns read out in church for three Sundays during the three months before the wedding. This is usually done over three consecutive Sundays but does not have to be.
• As well as being a legal requirement, your banns readings are special public occasions when people in church hear of your intention to marry. It’s an exciting and happy time, so you’re welcome to invite your family and friends to hear your banns too, if you’d like.

The Ceremony

There are a number of choices for you to make to help make your ceremony personal to you. These include:

• Which hymns you’d like
• What music you’d like to have playing as you walk in and leave the church
• Whether you’d like other music, like a CD played at certain points
• Which Bible reading(s) you’d like
• If there are any other readings or poems you’d like
• If you have any special requests for prayers
• If you have a special request for the ‘giving away’ part of the service. 
• You have choices about who does the readings and prayers, which can involve your family and friends.

Fees

Wedding ceremony fees are set centrally through the Church of England Parochial Fees Table. These are reviewed annually and so fees may be subject to change.

Fees for 2026:

Ceremony in Church - £566.00
Publication of Banns - £39.00
Banns certificate (If required) - £20.00

Extras:

Bells: £260.00 for after the ceremony or £375 for before and after the ceremony
Organist: £50
Heating (If required): £50.00

If you would like to have an initial conversation about a service for your child, please {email_encode:stewartdeering@sherborneswithpamber.org,link=contact Stewart}

We offer two special services to families:

1. Blessing

A Blessing - or to give it its full legal name: "Thanksgiving for the gift of a child" - is a celebration for parents and families to give thanks for the birth or adoption of a child. It can take place in the main Sunday service, or at another time that best suits your family and friends.  

We will pray for God’s blessing on the child, and supporting friends will promise to help and encourage the parents as they bring up their baby. 

If you want to thank God for the gift of your child and ask for his blessing, but you don't feel ready for the solemn promises that baptism involves, then blessing is for you. 

Some families choose to have a Blessing because they want to wait until their child is older and can decide to be baptised themselves. If you choose to have a Blessing there is always the opportunity to have a baptism at a later date.

2. Baptism

Often known as christening, in this service, parents thank God for his gift of their child and publicly make a decision to bring your child up as an active part of the church.

Water is poured over the child’s head as a sign of what Jesus has done for them, and a seal of God's promises.

In a baptism service, parents and godparents declare their faith in Jesus Christ, and promise to pray for and bring your child up to know Jesus, reading the Bible with them, praying with them, and bringing them to church week by week.

Baptism services always take place during our main Sunday services so that the whole church can welcome your child and pray with you that they will grow up to understand God's promises to them and grow in their own faith in Jesus.

Baptism is for the children of parents who are - or would like to be - active and practising Christians.

If you're not part of the church community already, the first thing to do is come along to church and meet us one Sunday morning. You can have a chat with our Minister Stewart who will invite you to take part in a Baptism Preparation Course (normally 3x1 hour sessions). These are very informal and relaxed and there will be lots of opportunity for questions. You can then make an informed decision about whether baptism is right for you. 

Godparents

If you choose to have a baptism service, you will need to choose godparents. You might already have some in mind but here are a few things to bear in mind that might help you decide:

• Because of the very special role godparents have in supporting your child’s faith journey, they should be committed Christians and they need to have been baptised themselves. Ideally they should be confirmed too but this is not essential.
• If the people who you'd like to be godparents aren't baptised, they can still be involved in the baptism service and in your child's life as they grow up.
• Godparents will be people who’ll be in touch with your family for many years to come. They may be relatives or friends of the family.
• They’ll be people who you know you can trust and who’ll be there for your child to talk about questions of life and faith.
• They should feel ready to make some big promises about faith for your child in church.
• Every child should have at least three godparents, two of the same sex and at least one of the opposite sex to your child. Although there is no official maximum number of godparents, three or four is usual.
• Parents may be godparents for their own children, providing they have at least one other godparent.
• If you’re thinking about asking someone who is under 18 to be a godparent, talk to your vicar first. There’s no minimum age for godparents, but they must be mature enough to understand the responsibilities they’re taking on.

Please don't hesitate to get in touch if you have any questions!