Marriage in the Shrivenham & Ashbury Benefice
 
We are delighted to welcome couples to be married in any of our seven churches providing the meet the criteria outlined below.
 
Our Policy and Practice

We uphold the traditional teaching of the Church about marriage, that it is gift of God in
creation and a means of grace and that it should always be undertaken as a lifelong
commitment.
 
We are delighted to marry couples that come to us requesting a marriage service, on the understanding that:
a)       It is a legal requirement that at least one of the couple lives or has a place of residence in one of the parishes or at least one of the couple is a regular worshipper [at least twice a month] at one of the parish churches and has their name on the Electoral Roll.
b)         Or one of the couple meets one of the following criteria;
·         one of them was baptised or prepared for confirmation in the parish;
·         one of them has ever lived in the parish for six months or more;
·         one of them has at any time regularly [more than twice a month] attended public worship in the parish for six months or more;
·         one of their parents has lived in the parish for six months or more in their child's lifetime;
·         one of their parents has regularly [more than twice a month] attended public worship there for six months or more in their child's lifetime;
·         their parents or grandparents were married in the parish.

c)      We encourage the couple to make every effort to share in and contribute to our marriage preparation activities and worship at least once a month in the church in which they are to be married.
d)       The Marriage will be conducted at a suitable time in agreement with the Incumbent between the hours of 8am & 6pm and will use only the authorized rites of the Church of England. We are at present unable to conduct marriage services in the month of August as clergy are not available, or if the incumbent is unable to guarantee that a Licensed Minister will be present to conduct the Marriage Service. Marriages cannot be conducted during Holy Week, on Easter Sunday, Pentecost Sunday, Remembrance Day / Sunday, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
 
We do not usually offer a marriage service to couples when one or both of them have been married before and have a former partner still living.  We will, however, offer the Service of Prayer and Dedication after a Civil Marriage providing the relationship in question did not result in anyway to the breakdown of the previous marriage.  The parish priest [Incumbent / Vicar] will need to see the petition for divorce and the decree absolute, before any request can be granted.  They have full authority not to grant a Service of Prayer and Dedication after a Civil Marriage, if for any reason it would be inappropriate to do so.
 
In exceptional circumstances we are prepared to perform a marriage service for a couple when one or both of them are divorced, and have a previous partner still living providing they fulfil the requirements a) and b) above and providing the Parish Priest [Incumbent Vicar] and the officiating priest receive assurance that:
 
a)    The new relationship did not contribute in anyway to the breakdown of the previous marriage.  The Parish Priest [incumbent / Vicar] will need to see the petition for divorce and the decree absolute, before any request can be granted.
b)    Both parties understand divorce is a breach of God's will for marriage.
c)    Both parties are determined to make the new marriage a lifelong, faithful partnership.
d)    There is a mature understanding of why a previous marriage failed and an expression of repentance about past wrongs.
e)    Appropriate arrangements have been made for any children of a previous marriage.
f)     Where possible, every effort has been made to establish a good relationship with a previous marriage partner.
g)    A sufficient amount of time has passed [at least 5 years] since the official ending of a previous marriage.
h)    At least one of the couple is a member of our church or of a church where they will eventually settle
 
If you are intrested in getting married in one of our seven churches please come to one of our Sunday services and introduce yourself to the Minister who will then make an appointment to see you. We can not book weddings over the phone as a short interview must take place in order to establish if you can be legally married in the Benefice. For more information please contact the Vicarge.