In the church there are welcomers who will give you a service booklet, a hymn book, a smile and a ‘hello’. They will also offer any children you have a story bag with toys, books and colouring activities to borrow during the service, if you wish to do so. Please sit where you would like.

The service usually lasts just over an hour and includes Bible readings, prayers, a talk and hymns. The person leading the service will indicate when most people usually sit down and stand up, but please do as you feel comfortable.

The service will include Holy Communion, and a welcomer (the people giving out the books as you arrived), shows everyone when to go to the front to one of the altar tables. All are welcome to come forward for a prayer of blessing, and anyone who is Confirmed or who usually receives the bread and wine in a church, are welcome to receive here. Or you can choose to remain in your seat if you would prefer.

After the service, we offer refreshments in the Green School, opposite the church. This is a good way to get to know people and have a chat over a cup of coffee and a biscuit, and you will be made very welcome.

The simple thing to remember is that, whoever you are, you are welcome. Please do not feel you cannot come as you have never been to church before. Please do not feel you have to wear any special clothes to attend. Just come as you are, we welcome you.

Other regular services are:

Sundays - 8am said service: Holy Communion said service in traditional language.

4:00pm Themed service, on the second Sunday of the month. Keep an eye on the 'Latest News' page to see what the theme is this month, so far we have enjoyed a variety of services, including a Pet Service, Taize style worship, Pimms and Hymns, and Celtic Evening prayer.

5:00pm Evensong service, on the fourth Sunday of the month. Please note that during the summer months (once the clocks have changed) this service starts at 6:30pm.

Wednesdays – 10:30am said Holy Communion service in traditional language.

If you would like to hold a funeral in St. Guthlac’s Church, these are arranged through a Funeral Director who will organise a convenient date for this to take place. Following this, the minister taking the service will be in touch with your directly to discuss and plan the details of the service with you to mark your loved one’s life.

Immediately following a funeral service at the Church, we go to Market Deeping cemetery for the burial or to one of the local crematoriums, which again you will have arranged in advance with the Funeral Director.

We are also available to say some appropriate words and prayers at a burial of ashes of your loved one, which again is best arranged through a Funeral Director.

We understand this is a difficult time for many and we seek to sensitively support you through this and offer an appropriate and fitting service for your loved one.

In Church we also have a memorial book as a way to commemorate our dear departed loved ones.  We include their name underneath the date they passed away.  This book of remembrance is on display in the Church throughout the year & you are welcome to visit the Church & view your loved one’s name in the Memorial Book on the day they passed away.  We update this annually - every other year & there is a small fee for this of around £40 as we send the book away to be written in beautifully by a professional calligrapher, before the book is returned to the Church for you to view.  If you would like a loved one who is no longer with us to be remembered in our Memorial Book, please contact us.

Adults can also be Christened and receive God’s blessing and love on them as they commit to following God’s loving way of life.

At St. Guthlac’s Church, you do not need to attend the church, or be married, to have your child Christened or to be Christened yourself. We also welcome LGBTQIA+ people to have their children Christened or to be Christened.

To find out more about a Christening service, click here.

Godparents

When choosing Godparents for your child, please remember they must be Christened themselves. This is because they are making Christian promises on behalf of the child.

Traditionally there are three Godparents -two of the same gender of the child and one of the opposite gender. While there needs to be one male and one female Godparent, on occasion some people choose to have two or four Godparents for their child.

Christening Services at St. Guthlac’s Church

We usually hold our Christening services on the 3rd Sundays of each month at 12:00 mid-day, or occasionally as part of our All Age Service on the fourth Sunday of the month at 10:00am. We invite a maximum of two families to each Christening service. There is no charge for a Christening, though those able to sometimes kindly make a donation of around £30 which goes towards the upkeep of the church and our ministry and mission in the local community.

If you do not live in Market Deeping, you or your child can still be Christened at St. Guthlac’s Church if you attend the church. You can also be Christened here or have your child Christened here if you used to live in Market Deeping or have another connection with the church. If this is the case, please contact your local Church and let the Priest there know you are seeking a service here.

To enquire about or book a Christening, please contact our Parish Administrator on 07972 839963 or by emailing administrator@stguthlacs.org.uk . We do get booked up very quickly, so if you would like a Christening please let us know early.

We love Christening services and being a part of your special day, and we look forward to hearing from you soon.

Frequently asked Questions

Who can get married at St. Guthlac’s Church?

If you live in Market Deeping Parish, you can be married in St. Guthlac’s Church. Or, if you have a certain connection with the Church, known as a ‘qualifying connection’, you are able to get married here. Some qualifying connections which couples regularly have, include: one of them used to live in Market Deeping, their parents live in Market Deeping, one of them was Christened at the Church, they or their parents attend the Church, their parents or grandparents were married here.

What Parish am I in?

To find out which is your Parish Church, go to www.achurchnearyou.com and type in your postcode.

Myself and/or my partner are divorced, can we get married in the Church?

We welcome wedding enquires from people who have been divorced.  We understand how difficult an experience divorce can be.  We believe in a forgiving, loving God.  The Rector will want to meet with anyone who has been previously married, for a conversation about this, and will need to see the Decree Absolute.  Please do not let this put you off, we seek to make this process as sensitive and relaxed as possible, and we often do marry people who are divorced.

How much does a wedding at St. Guthlac’s cost?

The cost of a wedding for 2026 is £770. This includes everything necessary for the wedding. In October-April there is also a fee for heating. If you would like, for an additional cost, you can book the Church choir, which really boosts the singing on the day and sounds wonderful, and/or the Church bells, which also sounds wonderful and signals to the town that this happy occasion is taking place.

When a booking is made, we take a non-refundable deposit of £40, which is deducted from the final invoice. We then like the rest of the payment a month before the wedding is to take place.

Our fees are reviewed annually and updated each year. Therefore, if you book a wedding for 2026, the cost will be the fees as they stand from January 2026, and not the previous year’s figures. The fees do not rise by a large amount though.

Can we make the service personal?

Yes. While certain parts of the Marriage Ceremony cannot be changed, such as the vows, you can adapt the Service to make it personal by choosing the hymns, Bible reading, and any poems or other music you would like.

While most couples choose the traditional Bridal March by Wagner for the entrance of the bride and the Wedding March by Mendelssohn as the couple exit, our organist is happy to play something else, as long as this is arranged in advance. While the marriage is witnessed with a document being signed, the choir can sing, the organist can play or you can bring a special song to play -any music you bring needs to be checked in advance that it works on our sound system.

You can bring your own flowers or pew ends if you want to decorate the Church, but please do be in touch with us in advance to let us know your hopes and suggestions.

If you are having a photographer we like to talk with them in advance about where they can stand.

Biodegradable confetti is also approved of, but the further away from the Church porch door it is thrown, the happier we are!

Please remember we are here to help you to have the Service and occasion that you would like.

What are Banns of Marriage and how do we arrange them?

Banns of marriage are the public announcement that you are getting married. They are read in Church during our Sunday 10am Service and you will be notified which three Sundays they are to be read. We like you to attend at least one of these, ideally the first reading.

If you are getting married at St. Guthlac’s Church but one or both of you live outside of the Parish of Market Deeping, you must arrange for your banns of marriage to be read at your local Church of England Parish Church too. To do this, please contact that Church directly.

If you are getting married at another Church but live in the Parish of Market Deeping, please contact our Administrator to arrange for us to read your banns of marriage here. There is a fee of £56 for this.

Do I need proof of Identification?

Yes. It is a legal requirement that we see a valid Passport for both the bride and groom. If you do not have a Passport, or a Birth Certificate from before 1983, we need to see a copy of your parents’ Birth Certificates or Marriage Certificate.

Wedding Bookings

To book or discuss a wedding, please get in touch with our Parish Administrator on 07972 839963 or by emailing administrator@stguthlacs.org.uk .

We look forward to hearing from you and helping you plan your special day.

Previous Sunday services are also available to watch dating back several months on our  YouTube channel

During the Sunday 10am service, we run the Sunday Club group (for primary school aged children -more details are on the 'What's On' page) in the Green School during the first half of our service. Towards the end of our service we enjoy welcoming the children back to church and hearing what they have been doing.

The first Sunday of the month our 10am service is an all age service which usually includes an interactive talk, children leading our Bible readings and prayers, and livelier hymns with the use of instruments. There is no Sunday Club session during an all age service.

Please do not worry if your children make noise or wander around during a service. If you would like to bring some quieter toys, snacks or books for them during the service then please do. We also have some story bags with toys in, and a little area by the way into church for children to sit if you feel you need somewhere different to sit for a while other than the main pews. Though families are more than welcome to sit in the main pews of course. Please do as you feel comfortable. Please also feel comfortable to breastfeed your baby in the church.

There is a toilet available in the church with a baby changing area.

We love having children in our church, so please feel welcome.