Welcome. 

Click here for more information about joining us.

Key stages

Baptism

Marriage

Funeral

Our churches

Boughton Malherbe

Harrietsham

Lenham

Ulcombe

Our calendar

Services and Events in the Benefice.

If you are organising an event please check here for any clashes, and, If you would like your event added to our calendar then please contact the webmaster

Marriage

We would love to help you celebrate and solemnise your marriage in church. We believe that marriage is a very important part of life and want to affirm and strengthen you in your commitment to each other and any children you may have.  We also believe that God wants to help you in your married life together and that a church wedding is a great way to start off.

Every year, usually the nearest Saturday to Valentine’s Day, we run a marriage preparation day which all couples attend.  This is an opportunity to meet many of those who will be involved with you in your wedding  - the organists, flower arrangers, clergy, etc.  You will be able to begin planning in more detail and think about hymns, music, readings and so on.  As well as all this we help couples begin to think about the strengths of their relationship and how to make it even stronger.  Couples are given a book “Growing Together” by Andrew Body.   This is a free day which couples really enjoy and is usually the first part of their marriage preparation with the clergy. 

 There will usually be a further one or two meetings with the minister who will be conducting your wedding

Can I be married in the Benefice?

If you live in the parish, you are entitled to be married in church. If you don’t live in the parish, you can still be married here if you have a “qualifying connection” to the church. If either of you can show just one of the following seven connections with the parish, you can be married here.

These connections are that one of you:

1. was baptised in the parish concerned or

2. was prepared for confirmation in the parish or

3. has at any time lived in the parish for a period of at least 6 months or

4. has at any time regularly gone to normal church services in the parish church for a period of at least 6 months or

That one of your parents, at any time after you were born:

5. has lived in the parish for a period of at least 6 months or

6. has regularly gone to normal church services in the parish church for a period of at least 6 months or

That one of your parents or grandparents:

7. was married in the parish

Resources you may be interested in:

“Growing together” by Andrew Body – book and course (this is provided free if you are getting married in the Len Valley Benefice)

“The Marriage Course” published by Holy Trinity, Brompton

“The Marriage preparation Course” (published as above)

www.yourchurchwedding.org - Church of England site to help you plan your church wedding, choosing hymns, readings etc.

Contacts:

Vicar: Rev Dr Dick Venn

The Vicarage

Old Ashford Road

Lenham

Kent ME17 2PX

01622 858195;

 dickvenn@gmail.com

Church Office

Mrs Michelle Saunders

01622 850604

ChurchOffice@lvb.org.uk

Flowers

Joan Davidson (Boughton Malherbe) 01622 850210

Sue Greenwood (Lenham) 01622 858475

Rita Long (Harrietsham) 01622 850863

Jean Davis (Ulcombe) 01622 842983

Organists (choirs)

Pauline Fisher (Boughton Malherbe) 01622 840076

Pauline Fisher (Lenham) 01622 840076

Paul Butler (Harrietsham) 01622 858981

Michael Alexander (Ulcombe) 01622 763153

Bells

Fred Asprey (Lenham) 01622 850539

Andrew Bond (Harrietsham) 01622 858251

Charles Tassell (Ulcombe) 01622 858733

No bells at Boughton Malherbe

Fees for 2009 weddings:

(1)  to be agreed with the organist
(2)  Video licences can be purchased online for £5 if no CDs are played during the video recording and £25 if they are included. See http://www.wvrl.co.uk. The Len Valley benefice office will organise this for you for a total of £10 (or £30 incl. CDs) including our admin. The organists usually double their fee if there is a video recording.
(3)  usually bought by couple and arranged by flower ladies as gift from church, or as agreed with the flower ladies

If you are interested:

Contact Michelle in the Parish Office between 9am and 12 noon Monday to Friday to arrange to talk to someone. Do this at least 6 months before your wedding day if you can.

If you have not been to a service at one of our churches before, you might like to come along; see below for times. There are facilities and groups for children. The service lasts about an hour to an hour and a quarter and would be an ideal opportunity to meet the minister and see the church.