Life events

The Church of Scotland plays an essential role in providing worship and spiritual guidance for key life events, from child blessings and baptisms to marriage and funerals.

Baptism

Baptism is one of the two sacraments recognised by the Church of Scotland, the other being the Sacrament of Holy Communion. In the case of infant baptism, the Church expects at least one parent or other close family member either to be a member of the Church or willing to become a member.

In the baptismal service those appropriate adults profess their own faith and promise to give the child a Christian upbringing.

In the case of adult baptism, the person themselves makes the appropriate promises.

Baptism is normally administered at Sunday worship in front of the congregation. This emphasises the nature of the sacrament as incorporation into the body of Christ and the life of the Church. There is a little more flexibility in the case of genuine emergencies, normally in a hospital situation.

The thanksgiving and blessing of a child

Since 2003, the Church has provided orders for the thanksgiving for, and blessing of, a child. The blessing ceremony takes place at morning worship following the same pattern as that for Baptism, except the wording and promises are different, and no water is used. Nothing is required of the parents in either commitment or belief. Our guide on the blessing of a child includes more information and a suggested order of service for the thanksgiving and blessing of a child.

Read the blessing of a child guide.

Christian marriage

Ministers of the Church of Scotland are authorised to perform weddings. The Church does not regard marriage as a sacrament and ministers are free to marry people who are not members of the Church of Scotland. However, if neither the bride nor groom is a member of the Church, the first approach should be to minister of the parish in which one or other of them resides. In places where parish boundaries are not obvious, the local presbytery clerk should be able to advise.

In certain circumstances the Church of Scotland permits the re-marriage of divorced people in church. You should discuss this with your minister.

Church of Scotland Law now allows ministers and deacons who choose to do so to perform same-sex marriages. For more information, please visit our page on the subject.

Blessing of a civil marriage

Ministers of the Church of Scotland can also conduct blessing ceremonies for civil marriages (those which were legally conducted by a registrar and not in a church). The couple seeking a blessing on their marriage stand together at the front of the church, and may be attended by friends. Our guide on blessing of a civil marriage includes a suggested sermon and procedure.

Blessing of a civil marriage guide

Funeral services

The Church of Scotland serves all the people of Scotland and not just the membership of the Church. You do not need to be a member of the Church of Scotland to hold a funeral in your local church. Nobody in the situation of bereavement should hesitate to seek the services of the parish minister, either directly or through the undertaker. More information about funeral services can be found on our Ritual and Remembrance page. The Scottish government also has a guide to planning your funeral which may be helpful for those who wish to make specific plans.

How to arrange one of these services

You need to contact your nearest Church of Scotland minister to arrange one of these services. If you are planning on travelling to Scotland for such an event, more information about the country is available from the Visit Scotland website.

There are no fixed charges for these services, but you may be asked to contribute towards things like heating and lighting and the organist's fee. There may also be copyright costs involved if you want to video record the ceremony.

Birth, baptism, marriage and death certificates

If you would like to know how to obtain a copy of archived certificates for researching your family tree, please visit our section on historical records.