Baptisms, Weddings & Funerals
Inquiries about Baptisms, Weddings and Funerals should be addressed to the Locum Priest .
Baptisms Holy Baptism is the basis of the whole Christian life, "the gateway to life in the Spirit". We welcome people who want to be baptised, and the Locum Priest is always available to talk to you if you would like to embrace this sacrament. While Baptism may be celebrated at any age, it is our steadfast custom and practice to baptise the infant children of believing parents. Baptisms usually happen in a public service (9 am or 10.30 am on a Sunday). Easter is a great time to be baptised; either at the spectacular Easter Vigil or the High Mass of Easter Day, or at another time during the Easter season. Weddings We love weddings at St Mary Magdalene's. These have sometimes happened during the Sunday worship which is a great privilege for the worshipping community. Other times are possible, and also other venues. The Anglican Church of Australia's doctrine of marriage holds that marriage be only between a man and a woman. As a community that respects the church's synodal structure, we acknowledge that it is therefore not yet possible to celebrate the sacrament of Holy Matrimony between people of the same sex. We hope that we will one day be able to do so. In the mean time, we pray for a church of diversity and difference, bound together by the love of Jesus and the Gospel message. Funerals Funerals at St Mary Magdalene's are normally set within the context of the eucharist, with the special ceremonies of the Requiem Mass, offered for the benefit of the soul of the person who has died, to provide condolence and comfort for their family and friends, and encourage them to pray, along with the whole Church, for the souls of those who have died. |