Gympie:

St Peter's Peace Memorial Parish Church,

St John's Church

Rainbow Beach: Good Shepherd Church

Gunalda: Christ Church,

Imbil: Christ Church

Worship Centres:

Glastonbury @ the Hall

Tin Can Bay: St John Vianney’s (Catholic Church)

Wedding

Information

WHAT IS CHRISTIAN MARRIAGE? Christian marriage is a sacramental act, thus its preparation should include prayer, regular attendance at worship and pre-marriage preparation with a priest and/or an appropriately qualified person. The guidelines below for the wedding preparations are to ensure that your special day is as worry free as possible. Please read them carefully, and feel free to ask further questions if necessary.

1. WHERE CAN WE HAVE OUR WEDDING?

We have a range of venues that suit different styles of wedding. St Peter’s Peace Memorial Church is our grand traditional church building with a beautiful pipe organ and long aisle for a more traditional service. St Peter’s comfortably seats 350 people. St John’s Gympie and Good Shepherd Rainbow Beach both have a more contemporary feel with seating in the round. They are smaller churches seating about 100 each. Music is usually by electronic keyboard. Christ Church, Imbil, Christ Church Gunalda and All Saints Kandanga are intimate wooden country churches with a lovely informal country feel. They seat between 50 and 90 people. Other venues. The Archdiocese of Brisbane has recently approved the use of other settings for weddings celebrated according to the Anglican Rite by Anglican clergy. Garden or other venues need to be discussed with the priest.

2. HOW DO WE BOOK OUR WEDDING?

Initial enquiries about availability of times and dates are welcome and may be made by telephone or visit to the parish office.

It is a good idea to confirm the availability of the priest and the church before engaging caterers and booking the reception. We can’t guarantee the priest or church will be available to suit reception venues.

Bookings should be made as soon as possible with final arrangements to be made no less than one month and one day before the proposed date.

Confirmation of a wedding follows an interview with the celebrating priest and receipt of the initial documentation.

In the event of postponement or cancellation of the wedding booking please promptly advise the officiating priest and/or the Parish Office.

Note that Lent (the five or so weeks before Easter) is a penitential liturgical season for the Anglican Church when it is customary not to celebrate marriages.

3. WHAT DOCUMENTATION DO WE NEED?

Full Birth Certificate, for each person (or certified photocopies), Certificate/s of Baptism (At least one of the couple must be baptised). Documentation for change of name or divorce as needed

4. WHAT IF ONE OR BOTH OF US HAS BEEN MARRIED BEFORE? Remarriage after divorce in the Anglican Church of Australia is permitted, however special canonical conditions need to be in place. These includes the applying for an Episcopal Dispensation by the Archbishop of Brisbane or the Regional Bishop.

As the Application for such a Dispensation can take several weeks to process, it should be made at least five months before the proposed wedding date.

5. WHAT TYPE OF SERVICE CAN WE HAVE?

Anglican Clergy are licensed by the Commonwealth of Australia to celebrate weddings according to the rites of the Anglican Church. There are a few options here but fundamentally an Anglican wedding is a deliberate decision to ask God and the Church to bless and support the couple in marriage.

An Anglican wedding has a distinctly religious flavour and some couples may need to consider if this is right for them.

Anglican weddings can take two forms.

The First Order: A celebration with prayers, scripture and the formal sharing of vows. This tends to be the popular choice for couples. The Second Order: Often known as the Nuptial Mass or Eucharist, the Second Order includes all the elements of the First Order with the addition of Holy Communion. This is often the choice of regularly worshipping Anglican who find Holy Communion a significant part of their spiritual lives and wish to share that with their family and friends.

6. CAN WE PERSONALIZE THE SERVICE?

There are basic things that need to happen in an Anglican wedding service including prayers, readings from Scripture and blessings. The Prayer Book gives guidelines where these can be adapted or varied. You will have a chance to talk this through at length with your priest. There are some areas in which personal symbolic actions can be incorporated into the service such as lighting of candles or other gestures of prayer or blessing. These need to be discussed with the priest and thought given to the suitability to the venue and tone of the service.

7. CAN WE USE A DIFFERENT CELEBRANT?

Civil celebrants cannot officiate at Church weddings.

If you wish to have an Anglican priest other than the clergy of the Parish of Gympie:

(a) The Priest in Charge must be informed and give his/her permission.

(b) The clergyman must be a priest who is eligible to be licensed by the Archbishop with Permission to Officiate in the Diocese of Brisbane.

The alternative celebrant must accept full responsibility for

(a) Adequate preparation of the couple and documentation for the marriage.

(b) The alternative celebrant needs to check the service is appropriate for use in the Parish of Gympie.

(c) Fees as the alternative celebrant may expect or require are to be paid to him/her directly by the couple.

(d) Other fees for the use of the church etc will still be paid to the Anglican Parish of Gympie.

8. WHAT ABOUT CLERGY FROM ANOTHER CHURCH? If either the bride or bridegroom is a member of another denomination, you may have a minister or priest of that denomination participate, although NOT officiate, by negotiation with the Priest in Charge. You must arrange for the non-Anglican clergyperson to communicate with the officiating priest at least one month before the wedding date to clarify roles and expectations.

9. WHAT OTHER PREPARATION DO WE NEED TO DO? With the wedding date booked and confirmed, the officiating priest usually will have at least four interviews with the couple and a rehearsal with the entire bridal party. These interviews help the priest get to know you better to help personalise your wedding but also an opportunity to talk through what you think is happening in this big step in your lives. You can expect to talk about why you would like a church wedding and the place of God in your relationship.

10. DO WE NEED TO DO A PRE-MARRIAGE COURSE? We strongly recommend the couple undertake a pre-marriage and relationship preparation course. There are a range of courses available with various levels of engagement.

We have trained facilitators in the highly recommended Prepare/Enrich program which includes an online inventory questionnaire followed by facilitated discussion.

These programs are not about giving advice or fixing problems. They are designed to give a safe structure for you to discuss big issues with each other and to learn more about each other.

http://www.prepare-enrich.com.au/

11. MUSIC

St Peter's Church is blessed with the historic Henry Jones tracker pipe organ . Musicians at our other churches/worship centres usually use keyboard,electronic organ or piano Couples should make contact the Organist eight weeks before the wedding date to make an appointment to discuss, choose and listen to appropriate music from the appointed organist's repertoire. This will include a range of suitable traditional and contemporary music.

The Organist's fee is included in the set marriage offering.

Other Organists An organist not of the Parish of Gympie is welcome

to play at your wedding at St Peter's Church, however he or she must be: (a) Experienced in using a pipe organ in a church context;

(b) Have the approval of the Priest in Charge in consultation with the parish organist

Other Musicians Should a soloist or any supplementary musicians

be engaged make sure they are competent and confident to sing or play to a professional liturgical standard and be willing to work closely with the appointed Organist.

Hymns - One or two hymns may be included in your wedding service.

It is important that the hymn/s you choose can be sung sufficiently well by your guests.

Copyright and Pre-recorded Music If you wish to play any

copyright music, either live or a recording, you do not require a licence from the Australian Performing Rights Association (APRA). This permission includes the playing of electronically produced music, eg MP3 wave files, midi files etc

12. CANDLES

A commemorative Wedding Candle can incorporated into the service but should be ordered eight weeks prior to the wedding date. Such candles are specially made by religious communities or church suppliers. They are decorated with the Christian names of the bride and groom, and depending on size and style a candle costs from' $55.00 to $80.00 plus postage. The candle is blessed then lit by the couple within the wedding service. Afterwards it is customary to light it on the day of your wedding anniversary.

http://www.christiansupplies.com.au/

http://www.jamberooabbey.org.au/html/candles/candles.htm

13. PRINTED SERVICE SHEETS

Provision of a printed Form of Service can be useful for wedding congregations outlining the Order of Service and including the hymns chosen. The text of the Service Sheet is developed by the Celebrant in conversation with the couple. The parish can print a simple service outline at the cost of 15 cents per A4 sheet. You may choose to use your own printer but the service sheet should only be printed with the approval of the officiating priest and must include required acknowledgements for copyright.

14. ATTENDANTS AND USHERS

You can have as many attendants as you like but give some thought to the size and layout of the venue you are using. You must have two legal witnesses, usually the Best Man and Maid/Matron of Honour. Flower girls, Ring bearers and the like are up to you but should be well rehearsed and if very little have a responsible adult other than the bridal party to look after them. Appoint ushers to hand out Hymn Books, Prayer Books or the Form of Service, to welcome and direct your guests to their pews. Ensure also that after the service the ushers collect all Hymn Books, Prayer Books or copies of the Form of Service which may have been left in the pews.

15. FLOWERS

Flowers in churches/worship centres are to be provided by the bridal party unless otherwise advised. A person from the bridal party must liaise with the person appointed according to the church's Flower Roster to ensure flower placement and type are appropriate.

16. DECORATIONS

Decorations may be placed on the pew ends. However, please do NOT use pins/drawing pins or glue to affix them. If you wish to recover these decorations please arrange for their collection promptly after the conclusion of the wedding service.

17. CONFETTI

Please ask your guests not to throw confetti in or in the immediate vicinity of the church/worship centre.

12. PHOTOGRAPHS & VIDEO

Mindful that your wedding above all is a sacramental celebration sensitivity and care must be taken to ensure that photographers/video operators do not intrude.

Photographs

Please inform your photographer of the following guidelines:

photographs may be taken at the Church Door for the bride's entrance.

photographs may be taken when the bride processes up the aisle.

flash photography may NOT be used during the wedding service without prior arrangement.

photographs may be taken during the signing of the Register.

photographs may be taken as the bride and groom process down the aisle.

Video and movie cameras

May be used during the service only if prior arrangements have been made with the officiating priest and when the video/cinema cameraman has the necessary licence to cover recorded sound, (with copy available for parish records). Without prior arrangement no other lighting may be

used other than the normal church lights.

13. PARKING

Arrangements vary at each church/worship centre. Nevertheless provision should be made for official wedding coaches to park conveniently for the bridal party. Guests' cars should not be parked where they may obstruct doorways or access to the church/worship centre.

14. FEES

Use of the Church $350 Clergy $150 Organist $50 Prepare/Enrich Course $50 Flowers Suggested Donation 100 Booklets 25 cents per double sided, A4, colour sheet The fees listed above are a guide only and final costs to be discussed with the priest. A deposit is to be paid as soon as confirmation of dates and formal application made.

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Notes

For more information, contact:

Church Office

15 Amy Street, Gympie. QLD 4570

anglican.gympie@bigpond.com

07) 5482 2629 or mobile 0408 754 024