+ Pre-Marital Mentoring

o Marriage is encouraged and blessed by our Lord. Premarital mentoring helps each engaged couple better understand scriptural teaching about marriage and provides practical tools to help couples successfully live out their covenant with the Lord for a lifelong commitment to each other.

To allow time for adequate pre-marital preparation and instruction, contact us at least six months prior to your desired wedding date. The first appointment is with a member of the clergy to obtain his approval for the premarital mentoring to go forward as appropriate.

Pre-marital mentoring is required for couples married at The Falls Church Anglican. Premarital mentoring may also be available for active church members who are planning to be married in other churches. The premarital mentor couples are happily married Christian couples that meet with an engaged couple to help them talk through and understand their expectations about the relationship areas a husband and wife experience in marriage. They normally meet together for 4-5 mentoring sessions before the engaged couple is married, and then follow up with the couple during the first few months of marriage. However, the relationship between the two couples may continue for a lifetime.

Pre-marital mentors are not counselors or therapists that deal with deeply conflicted couples. Nor do they mentor couples that are trying to decide if they should become engaged to be married. The mentors' role is to walk alongside engaged couples sharing the Biblical wisdom and the practical experience that comes with living through the many phases each marriage experiences over the course of time. They provide prayer support and practical advice during the mentoring sessions and for years to come.

The mentors are trained to interpret a confidential inventory (PREPARE) that each engaged couple fills out before they meet with their mentor couple. Their discussions are confidential and supportive.

To participate in the pre-marital mentoring program please contact Kelley Arllen (571) 282-0100 (ex.0212). An initial clergy meeting is required for all couples who wish to participate in our premarital mentoring program.

+ Weddings

Congratulations on your engagement!

Men and women desiring to be married under the auspices of The Falls Church Anglican must be active members, or in the process of becoming active members, celibate and living apart. If you and your fiance/fiancee meet these criteria, we welcome the opportunity to partner with you in this special event!

In addition to meeting the above criteria, couples must:

• Have their wedding approved by clergy;
• Participate in premarital mentoring through The Falls Church Anglican;
• Adhere to the guidelines set forth by The Falls Church Anglican concerning ceremony details.

Scheduling Your First Meeting with Clergy and Premarital Mentoring

To allow time for adequate premarital preparation and instruction, contact the Church at least six months prior to your desired wedding date. The first appointment in the mentoring process is with a member of the clergy to obtain his approval for the wedding to go forward.

To receive permission from the minister, you will need to schedule an appointment with clergy with both the bride and the groom present. This meeting will be about 90 minutes in length. After the wedding is approved, a wedding date can be set on the Wedding Calendar. For more information or to begin the process, contact Kelley Arllen (571) 282-0100 (ex.0212)

The couple then meets with the clergy, premarital coordinators, to take the Prepare Inventory, an assessment tool designed to assist the couple in identifying relationship areas to be explored with their mentor couple over the course of their premarital mentoring.

Premarital mentorship is contingent upon the availability of premarital mentoring couples; thus, it is strongly recommended that engaged couples contact the church at least six months before the planned wedding date to assure the availability of mentoring couples.

Please refer to the following documents for more information about getting married at The Falls Church Anglican: Wedding Policy.

+ Funerals

Baptized Christians, having been nurtured in the Church, are properly buried by the Church. However, planning a funeral when a loved one dies is always challenging, as it is accompanied by grief and difficulty in focusing on details. After a death occurs, one of your first calls should be to the church to let us know you have sustained a loss so that a member of the clergy can reach out to you as soon as possible. When you call the church office (571-282-0100), the receptionist will forward you to Laura Hill, the Congregational Care Manager, and she will begin the intake process with you and schedule a meeting with the clergy. In that meeting, the clergy will cover the specifics of the funeral service with you. Which appropriate hymns do you want? Which suggested scripture passages (Old and New Testament) would you like? Will you or others offer brief words of remembrance during the service? You may also offer personal remembrances you would like to have embedded in the homily. The fee for the organist, honorarium for the clergy, costs for flowers, and the reception will also be discussed. This meeting with the clergy will also give us the necessary information needed to prepare the funeral leaflet for the service.

TFCA Columbarium and Memorial Garden

The Falls Church Anglican opened its Columbarium and Memorial Garden in May, 2024. It is a sacred space on our church’s property in which to provide for the interment of asking of our parishioners and their loved ones. There are two burial options in the Columbarium and Memorial Garden: the placement of urned ashes in a Columbarium niche or the placement of ashes in the ground within the Memorial Garden. For more information about the Garden or to purchase space, please contact Kaki Howard at 571-282-0202 or visit Memorial Garden — The Falls Church Anglican.

Funeral Arrangement Form

Many people begin planning for their funeral well before a health issue arises. Our Pre-Funeral Planning Packet is designed to facilitate a conversation between you and your loved ones about your funeral/memorial service preferences. Our packet allows you to choose special scripture passages, hymns and remembrances for your funeral/memorial service. We encourage you to complete two copies of this form: one for the church office and one for your own records. Please call Laura Hill (571-282-0211) for more information or to make an appointment with a member of the clergy to talk through the various aspects of this pre-planning tool