Can I get married in the Medlock Head Team Ministry?
Thank
you for enquiring about getting married in the Medlock Head Team Ministry.
Unfortunately, under current church law, not everyone can get married in
our historic churches. There are presently four categories of people we can marry here:
1.
Those couples in which
one or both members live in our parishes.
To see if you live in our parish, visit the A Church Near You website, and type in your postcode.
2.
Those couples in which
one or both members have their names on the electoral role in one of our three churches (St John the
Baptist in Hey (Lees), St Barnabas in
Clarksfield and Holy Trinity in
Waterhead). For us to register
your name on the electoral role of our churches, you must have worshipped in
that church for a period of not less than six months.
3.
Those couples where one
or both members have an affinity
with our Parishs. The law defines this affinity as:
(i)
You have lived in our
parish for six months or more at some time in the past.
(ii)
Your parents have lived
in our parish for six months or more at some time in the past.
(iii)
One or both of you, or
your parents, have been baptised in one of our churches.
(iv)
Your parents,
grandparents, brother(s) or sister(s), have been married in one of our
churches.
(v)
Your school regularly
attended services at one of our churches.
(vi)
You have some other
provable connection with one of our churches.
4.
Those couples who have
a licence from the Bishop of
Manchester, The Rt Revd Nigel McCulloch. To obtain a
licence, please write to the Registrar of the Manchester Diocese, Mrs Jane
Monks, at “Diocesan Registry, Church House, 90 Deansgate, Manchester,
M3 2QH.” You will have to pay a fee to obtain a bishop’s licence; and delays
are likely.
A
licence will not be granted if:
(i) One or both of you have been divorced.
(ii) Neither
of you has been baptised in the Church of England, or in a Christian Church in
Communion with the Church of England.
If one or both of you is classed by the Home
Office as an asylum seeker, the Registrar will not give you a licence unless:
(i)
You have indefinite
leave to remain in the United Kingdom, and
(ii)
You have a licence from
the Home Office permitting you to get married.
Also
please note:
(iii)
A marriage conducted in
the United Kingdom will be recognised in all the Countries
of the European Union, but may not be recognised in other countries.
This statement has been
seen and its contents agreed by the Bishop of Middleton, The
Rt Revd Mark Davies.