Civil ceremony in a Chapel/Church?

onlyroz

seashore22 wrote: »

I'm failing to understand why you don't understand why it's not possible.

That was to onlyroz by the way.

I am aware that this is a hypothetical discussion

onlyroz

Georgiegirl256 wrote: »

But for someone for whatever reason wanting a civil ceremony I really cannot see that happening. If you were thinking of joining the church, then why not have a religious ceremony in the first place? Why would you want a civil ceremony?

I've never suggested that there were many people who would actually want to do this - I'm just curious why so many people are outraged by the suggestion when there are plenty of other non-religious activities that are permitted in a church.

Jagraf

onlyroz wrote: »

I've never suggested that there were many people who would actually want to do this - I'm just curious why so many people are outraged by the suggestion when there are plenty of other non-religious activities that are permitted in a church.

I'm trying to think of what obvious none - believer activities are held in a church? I'm thinking what we have in our church hall (hall even, as there are not any activities in the actual church that are not pro- religion).

Guides, brownies, scouts, parties, bring and buy, fetes, polling station, homeless shelter ... I can't think of any where there is a group of people who say they disagree with the religious part of the church.

Georgiegirl256

onlyroz wrote: »

I've never suggested that there were many people who would actually want to do this - I'm just curious why so many people are outraged by the suggestion when there are plenty of other non-religious activities that are permitted in a church.

I'm trying to think of a better way to describe it....nope, can't. If you truely can't understand why a civil ceremony in a place of religion isn't right, then I don't think there's anything else that I or anyone else can say really?

There was a coffee morning and tombola in a local church the other month. This church doesn't have a church hall, so any activities have to take place actually in the church. The reason why this is ok is that it is part of church activities, part of the church community, and not part of a service of any kind.

Errata

onlyroz wrote: »

I've never suggested that there were many people who would actually want to do this - I'm just curious why so many people are outraged by the suggestion when there are plenty of other non-religious activities that are permitted in a church.

Maybe so, but those partaking don't sign a legal contract which can only be dissolved in a divorce court or by death.

thorsoak

Perhaps the reason that Christians are "outraged" at the thought of civil ceremonies in a church is that, to Christians, marriage is a sacrament and that's why the vows are taken publicly, in Church, in front of the congregation.

I expect that this post will be flamed by those who do not believe this - but this is what Christians believe.

tea_lover

thorsoak wrote: »

Perhaps the reason that Christians are "outraged" at the thought of civil ceremonies in a church is that, to Christians, marriage is a sacrament and that's why the vows are taken publicly, in Church, in front of the congregation.

I expect that this post will be flamed by those who do not believe this - but this is what Christians believe.

Exactly. People wouldn't expect to be able to hold a Jewish wedding in a church, a Muslim wedding in a sikh temple or a Christian wedding in a mosque. So I just can't see why people would think it would be ok to hold a civil non-religious wedding in a church.

To compare it to use for polling stations or exercise groups is just silly IMO. It's not the same thing at all.

barbarawright

TonyMMM wrote: »

It isn't an issue ... the law as it stands makes it very clear that a civil marriage ceremony cannot legally take place in a religious building.

Of course you can take your wedding photos wherever you like - my local register office has a beautiful old church opposite, every day you can watch a stream of couples as they cross the road to the churchyard for a photo session after their civil ceremony

According to Post 2, a civil marriage can take place anywhere that has a local authority licence including a religious building though I doubt it's common. What absolutely cannot happen is a religious service or any mention of religion in a place licenced for civil ceremonies.

Funerals are different though. I went to a funeral which took place in a church and which was completely non-religious except that the vicar insisted on saying a prayer at the end though he said he wouldn't interfere with the rest of the service. (I didn't organise it so I'm not sure why a church was chosen). It seemed a reasonable compromise between people with very different beliefs

Jagraf

thorsoak wrote: »

Perhaps the reason that Christians are "outraged" at the thought of civil ceremonies in a church is that, to Christians, marriage is a sacrament and that's why the vows are taken publicly, in Church, in front of the congregation.

I expect that this post will be flamed by those who do not believe this - but this is what Christians believe.

I don't see why it should be flamed, to be honest, it makes perfect sense. I'm not sure why anyone would want a civil service in a church.

Torry_Quine

onlyroz wrote: »

We are talking about a church renting out their space for a few hours, which they do all the time for other non-religious events. Presumably anybody who wanted to do this would pay their way (thus contributing to the upkeep), and might be inspired to attend a church service in the future.

My local church is hardly ever open and apparently has a congregation of 20. Presumably they'd welcome the opportunity to open their doors a bit more often, make a bit of money, and possibly recruit some new members?

I'm with those who can't understand why anyone wanting a civil ceremony would want to get married in a place of worship such as a church! It seems counter-intuitive to me.

My church hall has something on every day, from mothers and toddlers to being used by outside agencies but nothing that goes against our beliefs. We even have informal services for the community. However we do not see these activities as only doing well if numbers becoming Christians and attending church increase.