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Weddings The Diocesan Church of Fall River and the parish of St. Nicholas work together in preparing couples for marriage. The Diocese requires that couples contemplating marriage contact the parish church no later than eight months before the proposed wedding. In the diocesan preparation track, a couple has a choice between the ENGAGED ENCOUNTER WEEKEND and the MARRIAGE PREPARATION COURSE. The Engaged Encounter weekend is held at the Family Life Center in Dartmouth. It is a highly effective weekend fostering deep communication between the couples. An alternative is the eight-hour classes of the Marriage Preparation Course. These are conducted in several locations. The format of the later includes one all-day class or the same material covered in two four-hour sessions. In addition, there is a special program for couples in which one or both of the partners have been previous married. Diocesan marriage preparation classes are also provided in Portuguese. There is available at the Parish Office a brochure explaining the diocesan programs in more detail. The Parish Office is located in the Parish Life Center, 499 Spring Street, North Dighton, 02764, behind the church. The Parish Office is open Mondays - Fridays, 9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m., or phone to arrange to pick up your copy after hours. Proposed wedding dates can only be set in person with Father Tim. To schedule a meeting with Father Tim, phone 508-822-1425 (office) or 774-644-5585 (cell) or e-mail by clicking here. Wedding plans cannot be made until both parties are free to enter marriage according to the church law nor can they be scheduled, even tentatively, over the telephone or through a third party. We can, however, tell anyone over the telephone whether or not a particular date is still available. The parish is able to provide for weddings any day of the week. Saturday weddings can be held up to 2:00 p.m. and after 5:30 p.m. Due to the parish Mass schedule, Sunday weddings cannot be accommodated. A wedding ceremony, either within the Celebration of the Eucharist of outside of the Eucharist takes about the same amount of time - approximately forty-five minutes to an hour. Normally, the parish church is the setting for weddings in which one or both of the parties are parish members. The Diocese of Fall River does not give permission for weddings to take place in outdoor settings. In the case of the proposed marriage between a Catholic and an unbaptized person, it is possible to discuss having the marriage in a function hall or other secular building. For very significant reasons, permission is sometimes given for a Catholic to marry a Protestant before a Protestant minister. The Parish of St. Nicholas asks that couples considering marriage meet privately a total of four times, in addition to the group Diocesan Marriage Preparation programs. Meetings are held in the Ministry Room of the Parish Life Center. Session One should be made as soon as you have decided on a date for your wedding. At Session One, basic information is taken and your date is tentatively entered into the parish schedule. If you later find the need to make changes in your wedding plans, please notify the church at once. Also at Session One, couples complete the FOCCUS inventory (Facilitating Open Couple Communication, Understanding, and Study). FOCCUS takes about thirty to forty-fives to complete. It is not a test. Session Two is held within four weeks of the initial meeting. The FOCCUS inventory is reviewed with the couple by the parish social worker. Session Three is held at the about six months before the proposed wedding. Be sure to bring to this meeting a copy of Baptismal certificates (dated within six months of the wedding) and Confirmation certificates for both you and you partner. If any of these sacraments were celebrated here at St. Nicholas, we already have the original record. The purpose of this third session is to complete the premarital questionnaire and to discuss more deeply the conditions, requirements, rights and responsibilities of the Sacrament of Marriage. If you have not already done so, you will probably want to schedule your wedding rehearsal at this time. The Fourth Session should be held about one month before the ceremony. The church will provide you beforehand with a booklet to facilitate your wedding ceremony planning. The purpose of the Fourth Session is to review your plans for the ceremony -- the Bible readings, hymns, prayers, etc. You will need to bring your completed planning worksheet to the fourth session. If you decide utilize our musicians, organists, Leaders of Song, and/or pianists, you will need to contact the Minister of Music, Charles Dillingham (Tel. 508-644-7044) to make these arrangements. The rehearsal is normally held a day or two before the wedding. At the rehearsal should be anyone who has an active part to play in the ceremony. The rehearsal usually takes less than one hour. The civil marriage license and any church fees should be presented at the time of the rehearsal. |