Plans to increase the price of weddings and funerals by 50% have been rejected by the Church of England.
A standard national fee of £425 for a wedding and £150 for a funeral would have been imposed, with parishes banned from charging extra for services such as heating, vergers and administration.
The Church’s law-making body, the General Synod, felt a price rise would discourage couples marrying in church.
[blockquote] With weddings, the Church’s own share of the market has diminished quickly in the face of competition from alternative venues such as stately homes and hotels.
That has inevitably increased the pressure on a number of more popular “picture postcard” churches, and allowed them to command a higher price.[/blockquote] Emphasis mine.
Here is a thought. How about they:
1. Stop marketing Christian marriage like a resort vacation in the country.
2. Only marry in Christian marriage those couples who actually believe what they will be promising, and recognize before Whom they will be making those promises.
3. Tell people that ambiance and tradition are not sufficient reasons to get married in a church, and, no, it doesn’t matter that your Great Great Grandmother’s stable boy once attended a funeral held in this parish.
A church isn’t supposed to be a branch of the service industry. There are hotels and stately old manors for that sort of thing.
carl
And drive-in “wedding chapels” in Las Vegas and Reno.
Leaving aside the wedding part for now. I am disturbed that there is even a charge for a Christian Funeral. Is this common in the C of E? I could not even imagine having a charge for a funeral. Now if these are talking about what one pays the Priest, then that’s different. I think that priests would charge non parish members a fee, but other than that???
#1 and #3,
While I concur with what both your sentiments, it’s worth bearing in mind that lingering establishmentarianism means that anyone resident in a “parish,” is considered “entitled” to a wedding in their parish church, regardless of any formal affiliation.
I would assume that regular members of congregations are not charged for weddings and funerals (though they may make a contribution to cover basic costs), but these charges relate more to those who assert their right to utilize the services of the national church for hatching, matching and dispatching.
It is, as Carl points out, an absurdity, but the Church of England has always its fair share of those.
I am glad it has been rejected, it’ll just discourage people to marry in a church and instead go to a registry office or somewhere similar.
With the price of everything rising more and more people are looking at faith / religion as a rock in their lives, and therefore, in my opinion, shouldn’t follow the trend in the rise!
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