Weddings
The Minister would be happy to discuss with anyone interested in being married at Monymusk Church. The Church can seat 190 people using both ground floor and the gallery. The question often asked is whether those wishing to be married in the church have to be members of the congregation? The answer is that while the minister would be delighted to discuss with you the benefits of church membership, that couples need not be members to be married in the church. The wedding day is or should be one of the higlights of any couples life and we at Monymusk will do all we can to help achieve this aim. Couples wishing to be married at Monymusk should contact the minister first to arrange a meeting to discuss their wishes, to agree dates and to get to know one another. At this meeting further details will be given with advice for what happens next. All couples must be aware that it is their responsibility to contact the loacl Registrars to arrange the necessary legal paperwork to allow the wedding to go ahead, failure to do this and have the necessary paperwork in church on the day of the wedding will result in the wedding being cancelled. There are costs involved for any couple being married and these include such things as organist fee, cleaners fee and a cost to the congregatin to offset heating lighting etc. These are updated annualy and details will be given at the first meeting with the minister. The Minister does not charge any fee for his service. Further information about the legal requirements can be found at
www.gro-scotland.gov.uk/regscot/getting-married-in-scotland/index.html
Funerals
The Church of Scotland is a parish church which means that everyone in scotland lives in a specific parish. This means that the local congregation has a duty of care for everyone living in their parish and in the case of a bereavement the local congregation is there to help. The death of a loved one is the hardest part of life that we have to deal with . Monymusk Church is there to offer as much help as it can in such times to the bereaved through the work of the minister. To help in the difficult time just after the death of a loved one it is advisable for the family to choose a funeral director who will help with the arrangements for the funeral at the same time as discusing the matter with the minister of the church. The Church will always be there for a funeral and the services of the minister are available. If the minister is on holiday he will have arranged a colleague to cover for him. The funeral can take place in the church, in the home (not as common as it used to be) with the burial afterwards or in the crematorium. The Minister can be contacted at any time day or night in a bereavement situation. Further help for bereaved familes can be found by contacting
www.crusebereavementcare.org.uk/
Baptisms
The baptism of a child or an adult is one of the highlights of the church year for the people of Monymusk. Children of any age can be baptised and adults can decide that they too can be baptised at any time. However baptism takes place only once and can never be repeated. Baptism takes place in the church on Sunday in face of the congregation unless emergency situations dictate otherwise. It is not a private family event, but a church family event. The Church of Scotland has strict laws relating to whom the minister can baptise and Monymusk Church adheres strictly to these laws. Children can be baptised only if one or both parents have themselves been baptised, one or both parents are members of the congregation or who intend to become members of the congregation, one or both parents are recognised as adherents of the congegation. The Church of Scotland recently added another category which allowed other family members who are members of the congregatin to take the vows of baptism on behalf of the parents. Monymusk only allows this to take place in the church where the child to be baptised lives near to the other family member who can shepherd them in the faith in due course. The Minister would be happy to discuss this with any parent or gaurdian wishing baptism for their children. An alternative to baptism is a service of thanksgiving and the minister would be happy to discuss this with you as well. For a Church of Scotland perspective on any of the above please go to