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Wedding and funeral prices set to rise
'Small proportion' ... Rev Canon David Osman and Christ Church treasurer Jackie Sandford.
HEAVENS above! The cost of getting matched and dispatched at South Tyneside churches is set to rise.
A big price hike for weddings and funerals has been given the green light by the Church of England.
Nationally, fees for weddings are to rise by 40 per cent, and the cost of a funeral service by more than half, despite warnings that the price hike could hit cash-strapped families.
But the Rev Canon David Osman, priest in charge of Christ Church, Jarrow, and St John’s Church, Hebburn, said he does not believe the rise will “badly affect” too many people.
He said: “In terms of weddings, the costs involved with the actual church service are only a small proportion of the overall cost of a modern wedding, which can often be £15,000.
“In terms of a funeral, once you add the cost of a verger and other extras, I would imagine the overall cost will only rise locally by between £10 and £20.”
Members of the Church of England have voted in favour of raising the cost of a wedding – including the cost of banns – from £296 to £415 from January next year.
The cost of a funeral service in church will also rise from £102 to £160, a rise of 57 per cent.
The new fees include the costs of lighting and administration for the first time, but do not take into account other charges such as heating, vergers and other services provided such as organists and bell ringers.
The backing for the price rises comes in spite of warnings from members of the General Synod that poorer couples could be priced out of a Church of England wedding.
The Rev Canon Simon Killwick, a vicar in inner-city Moss Side, Manchester, said: “Such a fee increase seems to me hard to justify in times of financial austerity, and even harder to justify in poor inner-city parishes.
“The Church of England ought not to be seen to be making a big increase at this time, and ought not to be making it difficult for the poor to access these services at a time when a simple ceremony can be had at a register office for about £100.”
But Canon Osman said the General Synod pegged the charges last year, after warnings about the possible effects of such price rises.
He added: “This is more about rationalising the different extras involved in weddings and funerals, such as bellringing and vergers, and I cannot see the price rises having a huge impact locally.”
Overall fee income contributes about £35m a year to running the Church of England, with about £15m of this going for clergy pay.
The price hikes have been approved after there was a four per cent rise in the number of weddings in the Church of England in 2010.
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Weather for Jarrow
Wednesday 23 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 10 C to 20 C
Wind Speed: 12 mph
Wind direction: North east
Tomorrow
Sunny spells
Temperature: 10 C to 19 C
Wind Speed: 10 mph
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RobbieJ
Saturday, February 11, 2012 at 12:40 PMOh yes, I forgot the Church of England is skint!
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