Church used to ask you for a Donation towards costs. There are plenty of 'Free' churches around. This does not mean they will not ask for money but that they do not belong to a Grouping of Churches such as Church of England or Methodist and usually call themselves 'Evangelical'. They fix any charge or donation with you before hand. Of course if you are a regular Member of a Church, the Minister or Priest will know you and not charge you the usual rate. The Choir and Bellringers may also be free although they do appreciate a drink in the local afterwards. They aren;t charging for the sacrament of marriage, they are quite reasonably charging for the venue and the costs of running that venue for the wedding - a lot of commercials venues such as hotels and castles charge a whole lot more. However for funerals I feel local parishioners should have 'mates rates' and incomers charged somewhat more. The infants and children of parishioners should also be christened at a reasonable level, non church goers can fork out more. I'm not Christian btw I'm a Pagan, but why shouldn't the C of E make some money out of what are no longer religious events but purely social ones in a pretty setting So the price of a wedding now still costs less than the sculpted ice swan that turned up for one recent wedding I attended. Add in a small fee to pay for the choir, organist,