Valentine's Day

Valentine’s Day is a great opportunity to talk about love, not just romantic love, but also the great love God has for everyone. Browse this occasion page for ready-made resources and ideas to help you keep in touch with couples and families.

In the 2-3 weeks leading up to February 14th, shops will be selling cards and gifts to celebrate romantic love. With this on people’s minds, there is a significant opportunity to talk about God’s amazing love too, whether that is in church, in your printed publications and/or online.

These are few simple ideas to help you do that.

INVITATIONS

  • Invite your weddings contacts, (whether newlyweds or soon-to-be married), to the Sunday service closest to Valentine’s Day. The service can mark the occasion simply, by offering special prayers for those who are just married or about to be married, or it can be more extravagant with balloons and giveaway chocolate hearts!
  • For all those who are in church on that day, this prayer with scented petals can be adapted to encourage people to pray for couples getting married, rather than for a baby being baptized, as described in the video demonstration:-

  • Send your wedding contacts a fun, friendly Happy Valentine’s Day card ‘With love from your church’.
  • This parish in York uses Valentine’s Day  to invite couples to a quiz night. They host it simply to keep in touch and build a relationship with couples who will be marrying at the church.
  • Remember to include banns couples when you get in touch – it will reinforce the message that their church is there for them throughout their married life and gives them an opportunity to have an experience of church contact, right where they live.

SOCIAL MEDIA

  • Valentine’s Day might be about romantic love, but you can also use it as a hook to contact families with a message of loving kindness. Share this page all about kindness from your church’s social media page, which offers some lovely practical things which could be done to make a positive difference in the world.

IN PRINT

Your parish magazine or newsletter can be a good way to reach families who have had children recently baptized. Many of the articles online at churchofenglandchristenings.org also exist as free articles which can be downloaded and edited for use in your own publications. Here’s the kindness article:-

See more ideas articles for use nearer to Easter on the Easter occasion page


Mothering Sunday
Cards and gifts go on sale for Mother’s Day well in advance. Hotels, restaurants and cafes promote their special menus. The mood is one of celebrating and treating generations of mothers, but the day itself can bring a mix of emotions. Whether it’s joyful, complicated or filled with sadness, Mother’s Day – and getting ready for it – is a big day for families, so get in touch to let them know the local church is there for them in good times and difficult times. Here are some ideas to help.
Open Mothering Sunday
Easter
Easter is perhaps the church’s greatest opportunity to speak with confidence about the saving power of Jesus Christ. We know that those who have already had contact with the church through their own special occasion are happy to hear from us again. Targeted invitations and ideas for welcoming them into church over Holy Week can help us explain the life-changing meaning of Easter to even more people.
Open Easter