Baptisms
Sunday morning services of Holy Baptism make for joyful mornings at Christ Church, as we welcome new Christians in claiming an identity as a beloved child of God. We offer baptism on specially chosen Sundays:
- The Sunday after the Feast of the Epiphany on January 6
- The Easter Vigil at sunrise
- The Feast of Pentecost
- The visitation of our Bishop
- A Sunday close to the Feast of the Transfiguration on August 6
- The Sunday after All Saints' Day on November 1
Confirmations
Confirmation takes place once a year at Christ Church. If you were confirmed before in another denomination but now practice the Christian faith in the Episcopal Church, a different prayer is offered to receive you into this denomination. Being Confirmed or Received makes a statement that you identify yourself as Christian and an Episcopalian, an active member of Christ Church, at least for this part of your journey. If you are new to our parish, this ritual can help ground you as a member.
Marriages
We believe in committed lifelong partnerships that express the love of God in a bond of mutual support and fidelity, for both opposite- and same-sex couples. When a couple desires to be married, one of our priests on staff works with them to plan their ceremony. Our policy is that at least one party to the marriage be or become a member of Christ Church. Pastoral consideration is given for adults who grew up at Christ Church and now live at a distance from Wilmington who are coming "home" to be married. We ask for a six-month preparation period to complete the necessary counseling and planning.
Funerals
When a loved one dies, we seek the comfort of the community of faith. One of our priests on staff works closely with the family to create a service of worship that honors the departed and communicates the faith of the Church—that in Christ Jesus, not even death has the power to separate us from the love of God.
While you are still in your health, plan for the hard choices that come with death. Make an outline of your wishes for your burial. Do you have favorite hymns or passages of scripture that you would choose? Do you wish to be cremated? When you make these choices, you help your family through a difficult time. For information on creating a will, click here.
The All Saints' Memorial Garden
Members and their immediate family may choose to be buried in our Memorial Garden. The Garden walls form the shape of a cross to remind us we are buried with Christ Jesus in his death and raised to our new life in his resurrection. Remains are buried directly into the earth in a ceremony conducted by a member of our clergy staff.