Church of St John, Ainsdale
Guide to Weddings and Baptisms

Weddings At St John's

We get many requests for marriages in Church, we welcome your enquiries, to help you here is some basic information:

In the Church of England you can be married in the Parish Church if all of the following are true:

a) If you are over 18 years old [or over 16 with parental consent.]

b) You are a bachelor and spinster; i.e. you have not been married before.

c) You, or your partner, live in the parish.

If you live outside the parish it is still possible to be married here if any of the following apply:

i) If you live in the parish for the three Sundays when the Banns are being read, and the days in between.

ii) You come regularly to church before hand to be enrolled on the church's electoral roll (6 months).

iii) You obtain a special license. This requires you to have some contact with the church; i.e. at least one set of parents must live in the parish.

For more information, or to apply to have your wedding at St John's, contact our Vicar or Curate. Contact details can be found by following the 'Mail/Email' link in the menu.

The Church of England website also gives some more details, including legal information - follow the 'Planning your wedding' link on the Lifechanges page.

Baptisms (Christenings) at St John's

All who live within the parish of Ainsdale have a right to have themselves or their children baptized at the parish church. This is usually done, after baptism preparation, at an afternoon service on the fourth Sunday of most months.

If you live outside of St. John's parish the clergy have to seek the permission of the vicar of the parish where you live.

We ask people who live outside the parish to come along to church for six Sundays before the baptism to show their allegience to St. John's. Only then can we seek permission from the parish where you live to perform the baptism.

For more information contact the Vicar. Contact details can be found by following the 'Contact Us' link at the top of the page. The Church of England website also gives some more details - follow the 'Baptismal and Confirmation Information' link on the Lifechanges page.

We invite the families of those baptized to attend the next Family Service [usually the second Sunday in the month]. At that service we present the family with a gospel, a bible story book and their baptism certificate, and welcome them into the family of our church.

We also have a wide range of groups for children and young people, these are:

Treasure Seekers 3 - 4 years old
Discoverers 5 - 11 years old
Searchers 11 - 14 years old
TLC 14+ years old

Again, contact details can be found by following the 'Mail/Email' link in the menu