Baptism, Confirmation
& Marriage
Baptism & Confirmation
Each year many people of different ages and backgrounds become Christians at St Martin’s through the sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation.
Baptism marks our first step on the lifelong pilgrimage of faith. It begins within us the life of grace, and initiates us into the fullness of life in Christ.
You can be baptised at any stage of life – as a child or in later years as an adult. In Baptism our sins are washed away. We become one with Christ and receive new birth through water and the action of God’s Holy Spirit.
In Confirmation the gifts of the Spirit given to us by God are stirred up afresh and redoubled by the laying on of hands by a bishop so that the candidate may serve the Church and God’s world.
Candidates for Confirmation publicly profess their faith (‘confirm’ their baptism vows and promises), and are fully initiated as members of Christ’s church. To mark this moment those confirmed will be able to receive Holy Communion.
Whatever stage people are at on their pilgrimage of faith, St Martin’s wants to be a help and blessing to all who seek Christ and want to be his disciples.
Please be in touch with the Parish Office or clergy if you would like to explore more about the possibility of being baptised and/or confirmed yourself, or want to discuss having your child baptised or confirmed.
Weddings & Blessings
Holy Matrimony is a time for celebration and festivity but also for contemplation and reflection on commitment, faithfulness and loyalty.
Weddings are the joyful celebration of the beginning of a new life together for the couple getting married. In a wedding, the bride and groom give each other their consent, make solemn vows to one another, and have their union blessed in the presence of God. The service may also, if the couple want,
take place in the context of a celebration of the Eucharist, referred to as a nuptial Mass.
Weddings have been celebrated and marriages blessed at St Martin’s for centuries for all those who meet the legal qualifications for marriage in the Church of England.
If you would like to know more about how you could celebrate this Sacrament at St Martin’s, please get in touch with the Parish Office or clergy either by email or telephone, or in person after Sunday Mass to arrange an appointment to meet.
