Baptisms

At All Saints we would love to help you celebrate and give thanks for the birth of your child with a Baptism (Christening) service.

Baptism

Bringing your child for baptism means that you want to give thanks to God for them and that you wish them to be part of God’s family and will help them take their part in the life and worship of the Church. You make promises for yourself and on behalf of your child. Baptism marks the start of a journey of faith for your child in which they will grow in knowledge and experience, learning to turn away from the wrongs of the world and towards the light and love we see in Jesus Christ.

More information on baptism can be found on the Church of England website.

To find out more about having your baby baptised, please contact our Administrator Sue Bassett (info@beneficeoflangelei.org.uk 07503 950315), see us after a Sunday morning service, or come to Tiny Tots on a Wednesday morning. Someone will then explain more about baptisms at All Saints and let you know when the next Baptism Preparation session is. These are held on Saturday mornings at 11am 6 times a year. At the preparation session there will be a chance to meet and get to know the Vicar and our Baptism Visitors, and other couples bringing children for baptism, and to learn more about the Baptism service. The Vicar will confirm your Baptism date at this session and arrange for two of our visitors to be in touch with you nearer the time.

Weddings & Blessings

Our vision is to be ‘A welcoming, open and inclusive church.’

At All Saints we love to welcome couples who would like to get married or have a blessing here. We want to celebrate the love and commitment of two people for each other alongside God’s unconditional love. Our prayer for you is that God’s love surrounds you on your wedding or blessing day and for your whole married life together. As your church, we are here for you after your wedding and not just on the day!

We are proud to be applying for membership of the Inclusive Church network. Currently, regrettably, the Church of England does not allow clergy to conduct same-sex marriages, we therefore legally can’t offer this at present, but we are supporting the movement for change. In the meantime, it is possible for any couple to have prayers following a Civil Partnership or Civil Marriage, or those who have been married abroad. We will be happy to discuss special prayers and thanksgivings with you.

Wedding blessings can be used to mark anniversaries, or to renew marriage vows.

At All Saints we also welcome those who are divorced for marriage. Please enquire as usual and we will help you with the application process for those who have been married before.

You are invited to come to one of our Sunday services and speak to Fr. James to make an enquiry, or contact our Administrator Sue Bassett (info@beneficeoflangelei.org.uk 07503 950315).

yourchurchwedding.org.uk is a useful website for people planning church weddings. You can find out more about Inclusive Church here – https://www.inclusive-church.org/

You don’t need to be a regular worshipper to get married at All Saints, although we would love to support you to find out more about Christian faith and our worship if you want to explore more. If you live in Kings Langley, you can automatically get married at All Saints, but if not, there are other connections that mean you would qualify. We have explained more on this in our FAQs document, where we have tried to answer some of the most common questions about weddings.

Wedding Preparation Evening

Each year the church arranges a preparation evening for those planning to get married at All Saints during that year. It is an informal and enjoyable time to spend with your partner and others, finding out about marriage, yourselves and what the service will be like.

Funerals

When we lose someone we love it is important that we mark the end of their life on earth in an appropriate way. Family and friends often wish to gather to give thanks and to support one another in their grief. Everyone is welcome to have a funeral at All Saints. Even if someone has not been a regular church attender they are welcome to have their funeral in Church before burial or cremation if they would like to do so. Our clergy are also very happy to conduct funerals at the crematorium. This is available to anyone who lives in the Kings Langley parish or who has a connection to All Saints. Please advise your chosen funeral director if you would like a funeral service at All Saints or for a member of our clergy to take the funeral at the Crematorium.

At All Saints we regard funerals as an important part of what we do. The Vicar will visit families to hear about the person they have lost and to provide comfort in their grief and work with the family to put together a service that is appropriate for the person concerned, including choices of music and readings and help preparing the Tribute (or ‘Eulogy’). The first step in arranging a funeral is usually to contact the funeral director who will phone the Vicar to check availability.

Burials of Ashes and Memorial Services

We are pleased to discuss laying your loved one’s ashes to rest in the churchyard. Ashes can be interred in a family grave, or we will prepare a new burial of ashes plot in the area we reserve for this between the Church and the Village Garden. We are also pleased to arrange memorial services for departed loved ones. These are typically held a few months after the funeral or around the time of the first anniversary. A memorial service allows us to take a little more time to reflect and celebrate than is typically possible at a funeral service. Please contact Sue to arrange either a Burial of Ashes or a Memorial Service (info@beneficeoflangelei.org.uk 07503 950315).

Bereavement support

At All Saints we have a pastoral visiting team who will be happy to support you either with a visit or with contact through our telephone support scheme. If you would like to arrange telephone support, or would welcome a visit from a member of the team, please contact the Vicar. We hold an annual memorial service at All Souls (end October / early November) for anyone wanting to remember someone they love. There is also an opportunity to dedicate a light in memory of a loved as part of our ‘Let there be light’ event in December. Please contact Sheila Ashman for more information: 07785 516690 sheilamac6456@gmail.com

Memorial Book

In the Lady Chapel in the south aisle there is a memorial book in which we can enter the names of those who have had funerals at All Saints or whose funerals have been taken by our clergy. Please contact Sue for more information (saintskl2@tiscali.co.uk 07503 950315).

Aumbry Light

This is the candle we keep alight by the High Altar, marking the ‘Aumbry’, a special recess where the bread and wine left over from Eucharist is reserved to be taken to the sick and as a focus for prayer. You can sponsor the Aumbry Light in memory of a lost loved one or for another prayer intention each week of the year. The sponsorship amount is whatever donation you feel able to give. Contact Eric Martin to find out more: 01923 267604