Worship on the Web |
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LIFE EVENTS AND THE CHURCH
The Church of Scotland plays an essential role in providing
worship and spiritual guidance for key life events -
from child blessings and baptisms to marriage and funerals.
You can find information about the following on this
page:
Baptism
Thanksgiving and blessing of a child
Christian marriage
Blessing of a civil marriage
Funeral services
How to arrange one of these services
Birth, baptism, marriage and
death certificates
Baptism
Baptism is one of the two sacraments recognised by the
Church of Scotland, the other being the Sacrament of Holy
Communion. In the case of infant baptism the Church expects
at least one parent or other close family member either
to be a member of the Church or willing to become a member.
In the baptismal service those appropriate adults profess
their own faith and promise to give the child a Christian
upbringing. In the case of adult baptism the person himself
or herself makes the appropriate promises. Baptism is
normally administered at
| Sunday worship in front
of the congregation. This emphasises the nature
of the sacrament as incorporation into the body
of Christ and the life of the Church. There is a
little more flexibility in the case of genuine emergencies,
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Baptismal font
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normally in a hospital situation.
Accompanying books
By Water and the Spirit - what
it means to be baptised. Price £4.99
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A commentary on the services of baptism
and confirmation. This book is for all those, of
whatever denomination, who wish to explore baptism
and Church membership, especially those who seek
baptism for themselves or their children. |
Buy
online now from Saint Andrew Press.
Christian Baptism - for
those considering Baptism for themselves or their children.
Price £1.50
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The thanksgiving and blessing
of a child
At the General Assembly of 2003, the Panel on Worship,
as it was then, undertook to provide orders for the thanksgiving
for and blessing of a child. The blessing ceremony takes
place at morning worship following the same pattern as
that for Baptism, except the wording is different, the
promises are different, and no water is used.
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The attraction of this is that nothing
is required of the parents in either commitment
or belief. The following information reports on
the work in progress and provides material which
might be used in the meantime. |
Download the information and suggested order of
service for the thanksgiving and blessing of a child:
Accompanying book
A Welcome to a Child -
four orders for thanksgiving and blessing for parents,
those seeking to be baptised, and worship leaders, taken
from Common Order 1994. Price £4.99
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Many Christian parents seek a rite
of reception of their child into the family of the
Church which would leave the child free upon reaching
maturity to decide for him/herself to seek baptism.
This book features four orders of service for these
situations with suggested hymns and songs. |
Also included is an Order of Holy Baptism of a Child and
Vows and Charge to the Congregation for Use at a Confirmation.
Buy online now from Saint Andrew Press.
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Christian marriage
Ministers of the Church of Scotland are authorised to
perform marriages. The Church does not regard marriage
as a sacrament and ministers are free to marry people
who are not members of the Church of Scotland. However,
if neither the bride nor groom is a member of the Church,
the first approach should be to the minister of the parish
in which one or other of them resides. In places where
parish boundaries are not obvious, the local presbytery
clerk (see list of presbyteries)
should be able to advise. In certain circumstances the
Church of Scotland permits the re-marriage of divorced
people in church.
Further information will be online shortly for couples
preparing for marriage, including an outline and explanation
of the Church services. For more information about getting
married in the Church of Scotland, you can download our
Guide to Marriage in the Church F.A.Qs below.
Download the Guide to marriage in the Church:
Accompanying book
Christian Marriage
Price £1.50
 |
For couples preparing for marriage,
including an outline and explanation of the services
in Common Order 1994, together with other practical
information.
Buy online now from Saint Andrew Press. |
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Blessing
of a civil marraige
Ministers of the Church of Scotland can also conduct blessing
ceremonies for civil marriages (those which were legally
conducted by a registrar and not in a church). The couple
seeking a blessing on their marriage stand together at
the front of the church, and may be attended by friends.
Download the suggested sermon and procedure for the blessing
of a civil marriage:
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Funeral services
Through its parish system and territorial ministry the
Church of Scotland seeks to serve all the people of Scotland
and not just the membership of the Church.
Nobody in the situation
of bereavement should hesitate to seek the services
of the parish minister,
either directly or through the undertaker.
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Accompanying book
The Funeral Services
Price £3.99
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How to arrange one of these services
You need to contact your nearest Church of Scotland minister
to arrange one of these services. Click
here to visit our contacts pages for contact details
of all our 1400 parishes. If you are planning on travelling
to Scotland for such an event, more information about
the country is available from www.visitscotland.com
There are no fixed charges for these services, but you may be asked to contribute
towards things like heating and lighting and the organist's
fee. There may also be copyright
costs involved if you want to video record the ceremony.
Please note that all external links on this page will
take you out of the Church of Scotland website and open
a new browser window.
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Birth, baptism, marriage
and death certificates
If you would like to know how to obtain a copy of archived
certificates for reasearching your family tree, please
visit our contact
section for full information and advice.
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In this section |
Introduction
Welcome to Worship on the Web
from the Church of Scotland Pray
Now
A prayer each day for reflection
and awareness
Starters
for Sunday
Suggested readings, prayers,
hymns and songs for Sunday worship
Prayer
Focus
Prayer diary from the World
Mission Council highlighting the challenges influencing
our partners worldwide
Thoughts
for the day
Occasional inspiring thoughts,
prayers and devotions from the councils, committees
and departments of the Church
Worship in Scots
A range of Scots
i the Kirk worship resources and reflections
for throughout the year
On this
day
A month-by-month guide to remembering
and celebrating key figures from history
Life events and
the Church
Worship and services guide for
major life events such as child blessings, Baptisms,
weddings and funerals
Guide to
Christian festivals
The festivals and seasons of
the Christian year
Reflection
for special events
A guide to prayers and worship
for major UK and international events
Books for worship
Information about the Church's
books of hymns, services and resources for public worship
Music
for worship
Resources providing help
and advice for using music in worship
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Related areas |
| Faith
Find our more about our faith,
beliefs and aims
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