FAQ

The web site will never be "completed", in that we hope and expect to continue to add new information on a daily and weekly basis indefinitely! However, we have now moved to a new site which will continue to upgraded

The responsibility for the site as a whole is a small management committee, from Highclere Society that underwrite the costs.

The Internet is quickly becoming the preferred way of getting information for many people and we expect this to grow very quickly. We want people in our local community at Highclere to take full advantage of all the facilities of the Internet and to use the Internet to further strengthen local community activities - clubs and societies, the Church, the local schools, the work of our Parish Council and other local authorities.

This will be achieved by making this site an easily accessible focal point for any and all information about local activities, and a gateway to the wider facilities of the Internet.

If you wish to have an entry in the diary please follow the links in the calendar.

Confirmation is a great event in the Christian life, when we publicly affirm our faith and are received as full communicant members of the church by the Bishop in the presence of the congregation.

After confirmation we can for the first time join with the rest of the family of Christ in receiving Holy Communion - the most precious aspect of our formal Christian worship, praise and thanksgiving.

Those who have decided to affirm their faith in this way attend a series of preparation classes, usually with the Rector or another member of our Ministry team, followed by a special service when the Bishop comes to our church or we go to Winchester for confirmation in the Cathedral.

If you were not baptised in childhood, the preparation included baptism, through which we welcome you into the universal church as a member of the family of Christians.

To discuss confirmation please call our Rector, Revd Christine Dale 01635 253323 or talk to any member of the congregation. For more background on baptism and confirmation see the Church of England website (click on the link).

Our services follow a monthly cycle. For details of the pattern of services click on the "Services" link in the church section of this site. There you will find details for Highclere, Crux Easton and Ashmansworth.

For this month's services look in the diary page of the church section at this site. Please also check here for any changes to the regular pattern, which may occur at special seasons during the year.

All are most welcome at any of our services - please do come and join us!

Baptism is the way we welcome new members into the church. It has long been the custom for parents to bring their children to baptism while they are babies and infants - and its a very great joy indeed for our congregation to welcome them, which is why we very much like to have the baptism as part of our main Sunday service, rather than as a private affair for the parents, god parents, family and friends!

Those who are baptised as children are "members for life" - there is no way to cancel or repeat baptism. But when people are old enough to make decisions for themselves they take the further step of confirmation - see our other FAQ on this subject.

If you were not baptised as a child, we warmly invite you to join the family of the church, and we regularly hold a service of baptism for people of any age - often as part of the process of confirmation.

If you want to bring your infant child or come yourself to baptism, call our Rector, Revd Christine Dale

For more background on baptism and confirmation see the official Church of Englans website - click on the link.

Please also see our FAQ What is confirmation?

Holy Communion is the most precious and exciting aspect of our formal worship, praise and thanksgiving to God. At any of our communion services we are delighted to welcome Christians of any denomination who are in good standing with their own church. In other words, if you would be able to receive communion in your own church, please do join us at the altar and receive communion with us at Highclere, Crux Easton or Ashmansworth - for details click on the "Services" menu item or see the diary.

If - for whatever reason - you don't wish to receive communion, please do come with us to the altar for a blessing. To show the priest or other person who is assisting at the communion that you don't wish to receive, just keep you hands to your sides.

If you have not been baptised and confirmed, do contact the Rector, Revd Christine Dale 01635 253323 to discuss this, or speak to any member of our congregation at any time. Christ wants you to join his family - and so do we!

Not everyone knows that they have the right to a funeral in their parish church, even if they and the dead person have not been church-goers. Nor do practising Christians always realise that they can have a Communion service as part of the funeral.

To arrange for one of our Ministry team to conduct a funeral service, please call the Rector, Revd Christine Dale 01635 253323 before fixing the date and time of any burial arrangements, so as to make sure he or one of our team can be available.

Tim can also advise on arrangements for burial or cremation, and an important part of our pastoral role is to comfort and support those who have lost a loved one, regardless of whether they or the deceased person has had any involvement with the church.

For more background on funerals and burial click on the Church of England lin.

We like to feel our Church is very much at the centre of village and community life - as it has been for generations! The Church organises the Parish Magazine, which is open to all and widely read by churchgoers and non churchgoers alike. In the same way we want the Church's website to part of the community site and we want the Church to fully contribute to the overall effort as well as to running our own section of the site as part of our Christian witness in the community.

Now that the law allows marriage to be celebrated at almost any venue, some people ask to have a "church" wedding, consecrated by a priest, but at some other venue, not in church. However the law governing Church of England weddings stipulates that the wedding can only take place inside a building licensed for church weddings, in other words a church, a licensed chapel or a parish centre of worship.

Please also see our FAQ, Can we get married in Highclere, Crux Easton or Ashmansworth churches?

For background information about marriage in the Church of England, see the wedding page at the official Church of England website (click on the link)

If either the bride or the groom (or both) are resident in the parish the couple may marry in the parish church. Also, the couple may marry in the parish church if one or both are on the electoral roll of the parish - this is the list of people who regularly attend and support the church but live outside the parish boundary.

To look into the possibility of marrying in your local parish church call the Rector or Vicar. For Highclere, Crux Easton or Ashmansworth contact Revd Christine Dale 01635 253323 .

For background information about marriage in the Church of England, see the wedding page at the official Church of England website (click on the link)

The Highclere Parish Council in conjunction with the Highclere Society has  prepared a Highclere and Penwood Village Design Statement. Now approved this will be used as supplementary planning guidance and used by developers and the local authority to guide development in the village(s). For a fuller explanation click on the URL below for the Introductory Briefing Sheet.

The project kicked off with an open workshop on 14th October and the preparation of the document and consultation will take place between now and March 2001. To participate in this exercise or to keep up to date with developments, click on Design in the side menu.

The site is owned by the whole community. It is managed on behalf of the community by the Highclere Society, working in close cooperation with the Parish Council and Highclere Church.

Just send an email to info@highclerevillage.com - events for the diary must be either local events (in and around Highclere and District) or have strong relevance for local people. The site editors reserve the right to decline entries.

Indeed there is!

Our thriving "Little Angels" Sunday club meets in the Dunlop Room at the church.

And we have regular family services in all three of our churches, at which children of all ages (from infants to 100!) are very welcome indeed.

Our environment is under pressure from change.

There is increasing local concern about the future of our community and environment within the parish.

A consistant co-ordinated approach is needed,not single issue lobbies.

A non politicalvoice representing all of those who live and work here.

A focal point for all issues of the natural,social and built environment.

A resource to harmoniously support our local council,other organisations,representatives and officers.

Easy - click onto the Society via the menu and follow the instructions.

For more about the Society click on the site via  the main menu!