Weekly Services

Services take place on Sunday mornings at 9.30am, lasting around 45 minutes. Details of the services for the current and subsequent week are included in the intimations which are available here and are generally uploaded on Friday mornings.

Our regular Sunday services are supplemented by additional services where it is considered appropriate, some of which are held jointly with the Abbey Church. Such services are advertised in newsletters, intimations, this site and on notice boards.

Holy Communion is celebrated twice a year during morning services.

Tea and coffee is served in the Kirk Hall following the service, to which all are welcome.

A prayer service is held on Wednesday mornings in the Kirk Hall from 10.00 to 10.30am.

In conjunction with the Abbey Church in North Berwick, services are conducted on the first Sunday of every month in two North Berwick care homes and communion services are led by the Minister in care homes on a regular basis.

The Kirk is open to the public from 9.30am to 4.30pm every day for private reflection.

Baptisms

Baptism is one of the two sacraments recognised by the Church of Scotland, the other being the Sacrament of Holy Communion. In the case of infant baptism, the Church expects at least one parent or other close family member either to be a member of the Church or willing to become a member. In the baptismal service, those appropriate adults profess their own faith and promise to give the child a Christian upbringing.

In the case of adult baptism the person himself or herself makes the appropriate promises.

Baptism is normally administered at Sunday worship in front of the congregation. This emphasises the nature of the sacrament as incorporation into the body of Christ and the life of the Church.

If you would like to arrange a baptism, please contact the Church Office.

Thanksgiving and Blessings

Since 2003, the Church has provided orders for the thanksgiving for, and blessing of, a child. The blessing ceremony takes place at morning worship following the same pattern as that for Baptism, except the wording and promises are different, and no water is used.

Church membership is not a requirement for this.

Please contact our Minister via the Church Office to receive more guidance on a suggested order of service for thanksgiving and blessing of a child.

Weddings

For over four hundred years, couples have been married in the beautiful setting of Dirleton Kirk. 

Eligibility

If you would like to get married in our church, please contact the Minister via the Church Office to discuss this.

Church Services

The church is delighted to marry people who do not regularly attend worship. Nevertheless, by choosing to get married in church, you are making promises before God as well as the congregation and this is not a decision that should be taken lightly. 

Legal Requirements

A church wedding can only be conducted if the couple are in possession of a schedule from the Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages. The main local office is in Haddington. The staff there will provide you with all the information that you need.

Before the service can be concluded, the schedule must be signed. 

There is a fee for holding a wedding of £600, which includes the fees for the Church Officer and Organist. A deposit of £100 is required to confirm the booking. The balance should be settled at least one month before the ceremony.  For further details and availability please contact the Church Office.

Funerals

The Minister or a Presbytery approved Funeral Celebrant is available for funerals of all who live in our parish.  

Services can take place in the church, at the cemetery or the crematorium, as is appropriate in each case. The most important thing is that the funeral service brings comfort, help and hope to the bereaved, and is a fitting tribute to the person who has died.

Please note that our Minister is here to provide you with support and comfort, as well as helping to arrange the service.

For a service held in the Kirk there is a fee of £50 each for the organist and church officer (the undertaker will normally see to this). There is no charge for the Minister’s or Funeral Celebrant’s services or for use of the Kirk, but if you wish to make a donation this would be gratefully accepted.