‘To invite or not to invite young children?’ to weddings is a key question for couples planning their big day, but a new survey conducted by the Church of England – as part of the Archbishops’ Council’s ongoing Weddings Project – suggests a majority of people agree with the Church that children should be welcome at the ceremony.
Fieldwork dates for the poll were not cited in the Church’s recent press release, a lamentable oversight, but it appears to have been conducted in the run-up to the National Wedding Shows held at Earl’s Court, London and the NEC, Birmingham earlier this month. 2,008 adults were interviewed online by ICM.
85% agreed that children should be allowed at wedding ceremonies, with 9% disagreeing and 6% having no clear view. Asked whether ‘The church should welcome young children to wedding ceremonies, and make arrangements to help keep them happy and occupied’, 68% agreed, 23% disagreed, with 9% saying ‘don’t know’.
These results have prompted the development of a new advice sheet by the Church on Welcoming Children at Weddings. It advocates that they should be given a ‘wedding bag’ when they arrive at church and also suggests ways for children to take part in the service, particularly the couple’s own children.
The above post is derived from the Church of England’s press release at:
http://www.cofe.anglican.org/news/pr8410.html
This is BRIN’s 200th news post since the start of 2010!
