Baptisms / Christenings:
If you live in the Pittington area, you are very welcome to bring your child, or children, to St.Laurence to be baptised. Baptisms usually take place on a Sunday morning service at 11.15am. If the Baptism Group is around 20 or under it may take place in the 9.30am service. There is no charge for this service.
Baptism (which means the same thing as Christening) is the beginning of membership of the Christian Church.
Adults and teenagers who come to faith are usually baptised at a confirmation service when the Bishop is visiting.
Please contact the vicar if you are interested in baptism for yourself, or would like to know more about the Christian faith.
To book a Baptism please attend the Office Hour in our sister church St Mary Magdalene, Belmont. This is held between 10-11am on the second and fourth Saturday of each month. Appointment needed.
You will be offered lots of information and you will have the opportunity to ask any questions you might have. You will also be encouraged to come to the main Sunday service a week or two after the Christening to enable you to be welcomed into the family of the church.
Weddings:
St Laurence’s is a special place, and could be the perfect place for your wedding.
You can experience a personal and meaningful ceremony in one of the most beautiful churches in the North East. If you don’t want to travel far for the Reception, you have plenty of choices, including the Hallgarth Manor, only 5 minutes walk away or Ramside.
To get married at St Laurence’s you have to live in the parish or have another connection to the church. We would love to get to know you before your big day, and by regularly attending St Laurence’s for 6 months prior to the wedding, you will be eligible to get married here.
Please see here for Frequently Asked Questions about having your wedding at St Laurence's.
To book a wedding please attend the Office Hour in our sister church St Mary Magdalene, Belmont. This is held between 10-11am on the second and fourth Saturday of each month. No appointment needed.
Funerals:
A church funeral service marks the end of life here on earth, and commends the deceased into God’s loving care. It is also an opportunity to give thanks for the life that has now ended, and to pray for comfort for bereaved family and friends.
Everyone, whether or not they were a churchgoer in life, is entitled to a Church of England funeral service in their local parish church should their family so wish. Alternatively, a minister will be pleased to take a shorter version of the funeral service in a crematorium, or at the graveside. The minister will also be able to conduct a service of burial of ashes at a later date, if you so wish.
We recommend that you consider having a funeral in church if you would like a fuller service, with hymns, readings and tributes from more than one person, as there is no time limit to a church funeral. We also recommend a church funeral if you are expecting large numbers at the funeral, as the crematorium chapel is fairly small in size.
Funerals are usually arranged through a local funeral director in the first instance. The minister who will take your loved one’s service will then arrange to meet with you, and will help you to choose how you would like to best remember, celebrate and say goodbye to the deceased. Readings, hymns or other music, tributes by family and friends all combine to make the service personal and meaningful for all who attend.
Further information can be found on the Church of England website.
There is a statutory fee for funerals, and additional local charges for an organist etc, but the church fees are a relatively small proportion of the overall cost of a funeral. The funeral director will be able to supply you with full details.
The vicar is always willing to meet with you to help you plan your funeral in advance. If this is something you are interested in, please contact the vicar.