We Do – Emmanuel in the Community
Emmanuel is committed to being part of the community of South Eastleigh. The church was built between 1905 and 1915 by a Mr Savage, who lived opposite in Desborough Road. His house had – and still has – a moulded panel on it’s wall that contained a biblical text.
The church was literally built into the terraced housing as Desborough Mission Hall, and was metaphorically built into the lives of those who lived in the terraces. Over the years many of those original families have gone and new ones have arrived. More homes have been built to house even more families whose life-styles would barely be recognisable by their predecessors.
One of the things that has remained unchanged is need for the church to serve the community, not just in terms of our regular services but for those special occasions; those times that may light-heartedly be called ‘Hatch, Match and Dispatch’:
We delight in the opportunity to dedicate children to God at the earliest stage in their lives. We do not baptise or christen children as we believe they should be allowed to chose to be a Christian for themselves when they are older. We baptise teenagers and adults on confession of their faith in Christ.
Instead, in a special ceremony we dedicate children to God as an act of thanksgiving for their young lives. We pray for them and name them, and ask their parents and family members to covenant before God to bring up the child to the best of their abilities, whether Christians or not. Following that we present the family with a Certificate of Dedication. The exact nature of the vows will be worked out with the family before-hand.
We believe God has given marriage to be a gift between a woman and a man, and we want to encourage couples to take advantage of that gift. The church is solemnised for Christian marriage and we are happy to speak to those thinking of taking that step. Before the Big Day we will take the would-be bride and groom through a short marriage preparation course and work with them to ensure each occasion is as individual as possible, with music and ministry to suit.
The marriage is so much more important than the wedding! Spending thousands doesn’t add anything to the quality of the marriage, which is wholly dependent on the bride and groom sticking to those wonderful vows through thick and thin, growing together into the future. So we are just as happy to welcome those looking for an affordable wedding. Just contact us and we will be happy to talk to you about all this.
Death is a sad inevitability for all of us. The best thing anyone can do for a loved one who has died is to arrange a funeral that reflects and celebrates their life, and the contribution they have made to those who knew them. It may be that you feel it would be appropriate to hold that celebration in the community where they lived. If that is the case, the service could take place in Emmanuel with the committal at the cemetery or crematorium of your choice.
Our minister is also a local funeral director, so it may be possible for him to make all the arrangements with him either in his office or in your own home. Whoever your chosen funeral director, please feel free to speak to him without obligation about the possibilities.
Fees. Just a word about fees. We have no set fee structures for any of our services. We prefer people simply to make a donation to the church if they feel that is something they can and want to do.
Service Content. Does the service have to be completely religious? No. Everything we do is God-centred, but we understand that people have different life-styles and and not everyone shares our beliefs (Yet!). So while we will not permit, do or say anything that we believe to be unbiblical, we are happy to include appropriate secular items, music, etc., as need be. You have nothing to loose by contacting us to see if we can meet your needs.