Baptisms, weddings & funerals
To arrange a baptism or wedding, please contact the Parish Office in the first instance. They can help with dates, fees, locations, availability etc. Funerals are usually arranged through a Funeral Director.
We take bookings quite a long way ahead so if you wish to book a specific date it’s advisable to contact us early.
Baptisms
Some people refer to baptism as ‘Christening’ but these are just two different words for the same thing. It is the process of welcoming an infant or child or adult into the Christian church.
Baptism services take place usually on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon at 2pm or 3pm at the Parish Church or Holy Trinity. These dates are fixed for specific festivals throughout the year. Baptisms can also take place during a morning (10am) Eucharist at the Parish Church and Holy Trinity or at 10.30am at St Lawrence.
If baptism is about becoming a member of the church, then the church has some expectation of those who seek baptism – tempering this with the understanding that all Christian sacraments, and the church, are a gift from God. Therefore any approach to families must be generous, but not lacking in expectation.
Families who ask for baptism will be asked to attend the Sunday Eucharist at least twice before the baptism. For this reason it is important that a Learning Process is provided by the church. This is OUR responsibility to the family.
Weddings
The Parish Office will be happy to advise you on costs and the availability of either the Parish Church or Holy Trinity, Watermoor. (Weddings are not held at St Lawrence Church Centre.)
The Parish Church of St John Baptist is a lovely old wool church dating back to the 12th Century. It makes a very dramatic environment for any wedding with a long centre aisle for the Bride’s entrance!
Holy Trinity Church, Watermoor celebrated its 175th Anniversary in 2026 and is a very popular church with wedding couples.
Why not consider using one of our halls or rooms for your reception? You could choose one of the Church halls at Watermoor or St Lawrence.
If you wish to arrange refreshments for those who have travelled a distance then our rooms and halls are available for hire.
Funerals
To arrange a funeral, cremation, burial, memorial service or burial of ashes, most people refer to one of the Funeral Directors in the town.
Cowley and Son, Co-operative Funerals or A Slade and Son are our local undertakers.
If you wish to arrange refreshments for those who have travelled a distance then our rooms and halls are available for hire. The Parish Hall at Watermoor is next to Holy Trinity and St Lawrence hall is also available.
Garden of Remembrance at St John Baptist
St John Baptist Church has the facility to make a permanent memorial to those whose ashes have been buried in the churchyard. It consists of York grave stones on each one of which a number of names and dates can be inscribed. The stones are erected in the existing ash burial area. Subsequent stones will be erected in a fresh ash burial area in the south-east corner of the churchyard. A gravel path allows access to both sets of stones and there is a raised area provided on which flowers can be placed.
Contact the Parish Office for application forms for the Book of Remembrance or for Memorial Stone inscriptions.
Regulations for the Garden Of Remembrance
Local regulations for the interment of ashes in the Garden of Remembrance at St John Baptist.
These local regulations supplement and and tailor the regulations of the Diocese of Gloucester Churchyard Regulations as it applies to the Garden of Remembrance in the Churchyard of St John Baptist.
