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Walpole Old Chapel is available for the following:
Contact secretary
for more information on:
Facilities
Walpole Old Chapel has seating for 200, toilets including
disabled, and
limited free off-road parking.
Volunteers to assist with the day to day organisation and guiding at the Chapel
are always most welcome.
If you would be interested in becoming a volunteer Friend, or you would like any
further information about the Friends, please contact us.
Further information and all booking enquiries should be addressed to the
Secretary.
Baptisms
Traditionally, a person is baptised in church by a priest or
minister of the church. Technically, a person can be baptised anywhere by
anyone; what counts is what those who are involved believe is happening.
In the Independent/Congregational tradition from which Walpole Old Chapel comes,
infant baptism was practised. The act of baptism took place in the course of
regular Sunday worship, the parents making promises in public to bring the child
up in the teaching of Christ, and the congregation promising to support both
parents and child.
Today, there is no regular Sunday worship or congregation attached to the
chapel. It is possible to hold a service of baptism in the chapel, but all
involved would need to be clear in their understanding of the meaning of what
they were doing, and of its implications for the future Christian nurture of the
child.
Parents wishing to have their children baptised in the chapel are advised to
contact the secretary.
Weddings
A wedding in church or chapel is both a religious
and a legal event, and must therefore comply with the requirements laid down by
law.
Walpole Old Chapel is recognised by law as a building in which weddings may take
place. The wedding service must be in the tradition from which the chapel comes,
and either the local Registrar, or a duly Authorised Person must be present to
register the marriage in law and issue the Marriage Certificate. The couple
getting married are required to attend at the Registrar’s Office well in advance
of the wedding to obtain the Certificates of Marriage which are necessary if the
marriage ceremony is to take place in the chapel.
While the Order of Service for the marriage follows the Congregational pattern,
in practice it is very flexible, and can normally meet any special requirements
of the couple being married. Details can be discussed with the minister
conducting the service.
For further information, please
contact the secretary.
The Blessing of
a couple following a Civil Marriage
A service for the Blessing of a Civil Marriage can
be held in the Chapel for a couple requesting it. This is a purely Christian
religious event, and has no legal significance.
For further information, please
contact the secretary. |
