Sunday Services
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PARISH COMMUNION
EVERY SUNDAY - 10AM
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FAMILY SERVICE
FIRST SUNDAY EACH MONTH - 10.00AM
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CHORAL EVENSONG
THIRD SUNDAY EACH MONTH - 5PM
Occasional Services
Weddings
Priests of the Church of England enjoy (and we really do mean enjoy!) the right to register marriages in all their churches, with the Vicar taking on the role of Registrar on behalf of the Crown. Before you contact us, you may wish to take a look at the following website http://www.yourchurchwedding.org/ which provides an excellent resource for just about every consideration, from what music to choose to how to save on costs.
It is preferable to contact us first to check your qualification to marry at St. Andrew's and to book dates, before you arrange any venue for your wedding reception. Our calendar can get booked up very far in advance. Please contact Sarah in the Parish Office (admin@totteridgechurch.org.uk / 020 8446 1417) who will be delighted to discuss this with you. She can also give you information on how our flower arranging team can help you with your flowers, and information on the provision of an organist and choir if you should want one.
Funerals
There are many taboos surrounding death but it is a fact of human existence that we shall all one day come to the end of this life. Christians believe that mortal death is not the end, but the new beginning of a closer existence with God, because this was what Christ told us: "In my Father's house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so would I have told that I go to prepare a place for you?" John 14.2
Whether you wish to make plans for your own funeral, or if you have lost a loved one and would like there to be a ceremony at St. Andrew's, then do please contact Margaret Peart (mpeart150@gmail.com / 020 8449 3723). It is a good and thoughtful thing to make arrangements for one's own passing; this can help relieve a grieving family of much anxiety at the time of bereavement. The crucial thing is to decide what's needed, to make a note of it, and to tell your loved ones - making a Will can serve this purpose too.
You do not have to be a member of our congregation in order to hold a funeral in this church, whether this may involve a separate cremation, a burial or a Memorial service. Where possible and appropriate, Margaret Peart can arrange for a vicar to prepare the dying by the administration of the last rites, sometimes known as anointing or 'Extreme Unction', or this can be done together with the sacrament of absolution, if required.
Baptisms
Also known as Christening, Baptism is a ceremony of initiation into the Christian life, in which a child or an adult may take on the faith of the church and become a member of the Church Family. Everyone is welcome to have their children christened in their Parish Church. During the Christening service your baby will be baptized. There are around 10,000 babies and children baptized in the Church of England every month. Your child is precious to you, precious to us, and precious to God. At Baptism you make a decision to start your child on a journey of faith. The church and the godparents support the family and the child in this decision. Conducted by the priest, this is achieved through a symbolic act with water, which shares in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
If you have been blessed by God with the gift of a child, you may wish to accompany them in the first steps of the journey that is the Christian faith by bringing them to baptism - there is no charge for this ceremony. You may be an adult wishing to take this first step in faith, and you would be very welcome as well. Either way, you will require at least two (max. 4) Godparents of either sex and who will be prepared to make certain Christian promises to support the spiritual life of the newly baptised. To read the full Baptism Service please click on this link http://www.churchofengland.org/media/1190836/holy%20baptism.pdf If you or your friends don't wish to do this, an alternative to child baptism is to opt for a service of Thanksgiving for the Gift of a Child.
This beautiful and moving Service can take place at St. Andrew's either within the body of a Sunday morning 10 o'clock Service - where the newly baptised can be welcomed by the Church Family and some of your guests - or, in a dedicated Baptism Service, to which you are welcome to invite as many friends or family as you wish. If you would like to find out more about getting your child baptized or getting baptized yourself, do please contact Sarah (admin@totteridgechurch.org.uk / 020 8446 1417) for more information.
Confirmations
Confirmation is the ceremony that many regard as the adult affirmation of the vows made for them by their parents at baptism. This affirmation is confirmed through prayer and the laying on of hands by the confirming Bishop.
The path to confirmation requires a greater understanding of the principles of the Christian faith and therefore involves attending a short course. This is a good way to explore your faith with others who are thinking about confirmation and is a safe place to ask any questions you have about God, Jesus and the journey of faith.