The Church of England has an unique, some would say controversial, position as the “Established Church”.  Whatever that might have meant historically, it certainly means that we exist not just for those who come to church, but for all who live in our respective parishes, whether or not they are people of faith.  We are here to help where we can, without any strings attached, perhaps by sharing in the joy of new beginnings - a marriage or a baptism; perhaps by trying to be a resource in times of trouble - a bereavement or a relationship difficulty; perhaps just listening in a time of confusion or anxiety; perhaps visiting at home or in hospital. You might know just who to contact in any of these circumstances; but in case you don’t, this page has information about what we can do, and about how best to make contact. In difficult times, contact any ony of us, and we’ll either help, or put you in touch with the one who can - details on the Personnel  page.  Any of the clergy will gladly visit whether at home or in hospital, to listen or to pray with you, and we can arrange to bring communion to you if that helps. If you have to arrange a funeral you may well have already contacted a Funeral Director who will liaise with us about a service either in one of the churches or at the Crematorium and will organise the practicalities on your behalf along with the minister.  We will of course then arrange to meet with you to talk about the service, but also to listen and to try to be an emotional or spiritual resource for you to draw upon if you wish. Several of our churches have “Pastoral Teams”; basically a group of folk from within the congregation who are able to drop in and be company, or offer help in practical ways (shopping, transport and so on).  Whether or not there’s a “team” in place, these village communities have a deserved reputation for caring for one another, and that’s an invaluable resource. For Baptisms (aka Christenings) throughout the team area contact David Lewis on 01609 881205. For Weddings throughout the team area either Geoff Spedding on 07766 145929 or David Lewis, or at Croft Church Liz Ford on 01325 720878, or Middleton Tyas Dianna Donnison on 01325 377641. Both weddings and baptisms can be arranged very easily in any of our churches for those who live within the team area - it’s just a touch more complicated for those living outside the area, but not necessarily impossible! For a baptism, assuming that you have a substantial reason for coming to us rather than to your own parish church, we’ll have a chat with you but ask you to make contact with your local church before we make any arrangements.  This will give your own vicar chance to tell you about the resources that the local church can offer for children as your baby grows up, and will ensure that we are not seen as “poaching”! For weddings we have to be quite careful to stay within the law that regulates marriage in church, which means that if you neither live in the team area nor worship at one of our churches then you will have to offer evidence that you do have a substantial, historic connection with us.  More detailed information about this on the “weddings” page.  It’s worth adding that should one of you have been divorced that doesn’t make a marriage in church impossible, but it does add a level of complication that will need to be discussed before any arrangements can be made - so again, make contact first. For more information about marriage in church go to: