Planning Baptisms, Weddings And Funerals

Baptisms

Holy Baptism for adults, children, or infants may be scheduled at the 9 a.m. or 11:15 a.m. service on one of these Sundays: The Easter Vigil, The Day of Pentecost, Trinity Sunday, The Feast of St. Mary the Virgin, All Saints' Sunday, Christ the King Sunday, and on the Feast of the Baptism of our Lord (the first Sunday after the Epiphany). There is a required Baptism workshop the Saturday immediately preceding the Sunday of the Baptism. Please contact Annie Slaughter, Liturgical Assistant, 336-272-6149, ext. 229 or annie@holy-trinity.com.

Weddings

Anyone who would like to be married at Holy Trinity must be – for at least one year prior to the wedding – a member who is a communicant in good standing, the child of a member who is a communicant in good standing, or transferring in as a communicant in good standing from another parish.

Members in good standing are defined as “communicants of this Church, who for the previous year have been faithful in corporate worship, unless for good cause prevented, and have been faithful in working, praying, and giving for the spread of the Kingdom of God, are to be considered communicants in good standing.” (Title I, Canon 17, Sec. 3)

Anyone who is not a communicant in good standing at Holy Trinity can talk with one of the clergy about classes to begin the journey of becoming an active participant in the life of the Church.

Brides should not begin planning a wedding until the priest, organist, church and date are secured through Liturgical Coordinator Annie Slaughter (annie@holy-trinity.com). 

Funerals

The Book of Common Prayer notes on page 507, “The liturgy for the dead is an Easter liturgy. It finds all its meaning in the resurrection. Because Jesus was raised from the dead, we, too, shall be raised.” A funeral service in the Episcopal Church is a worship service. Because our time on Earth is a gift from God, the Church celebrates that – from baptism, to confirmation, to marriage, to a funeral.

Holy Trinity encourages parishioners to plan for their own funerals. Death is often unexpected, and is always a time of sorrow. Planning your own funeral with the assistance of the clergy and having these plans on file in the Church Office is a deeply faithful and meaningful act, and can be a comfort to remaining family.

Anyone can meet with a clergy member to discuss the planning process. More information is available here in this printable document.

A family should contact the Church if death is imminent so that the clergy can be involved pastorally.