When a child is born, it is a time of great joy and celebration. Your child is precious to you and precious to God. You want the very best for them, so does God. You want them to make the right choices in life for themselves and others.
Whether you’re exploring the possibility of a baptism/christening (a baptism and a christening are the same thing) or have already decided we would be delighted to hear from you.
Our churches would like to help and support you to make the choices that are right for your child and family, to celebrate and mark the start of their faith journey and relationship with God, or to simply give thanks to God for the gift of your child.
What is a Baptism/Christening?
Your child is precious to you and precious to God. You want the very best for them, and so does God. You want them to make right choices in life, for themselves and for others. When your child is Christened, they are baptised into the family of Christ; a beginning that can lead to so much more.
Also known as a baptism, a christening is the first step of an amazing journey with God, parents, godparents, friends, family, and the Church. The beginning of a lifetime of discovering about love, faith and hope – a wonderful moment to celebrate.
Baptism is a declaration of faith, made on behalf of the child and there are several special moments in the service.
- The priest will pray for your child and all who will support them in their path of faith.
- Parents and godparents will make some important promises for your child in the service.
- Special oil will be used to make the sign of the cross on your child’s forehead. It’s a significant moment, which marks your child as belonging to God.
- Water, which is blessed in the church’s font, will be poured over your child’s head by the priest. This is your child’s baptism.
- Everyone promises to continue supporting your child in their faith journey from this moment.
- A candle will be given to you in the service when the priest says: “Shine as a light in the world to the glory of God”
The role of Godparents.
- In the service, the godparents make promises to share the amazing journey of the Christian faith, to pray for your child and to show them ways to grow in love and faith.
- Because of the very special role they have in supporting your child’s faith journey, godparents should be christened themselves. It is usual to choose at least 3 godparents, although this can be flexible, parents can also be godparents.
When will the service be ?
To fully welcome your child into the family of God, Christenings services can be part of the regular Sunday morning service on most weeks of the year, or as a separate early afternoon service. All your family and friends are welcome.
It maybe that you as parents, or your Godparents don’t feel ready yet to make the Public Promises in the Baptism service. Another option is a special simple Service of Thanksgiving which might feel more comfortable.
If you are exploring the idea of a baptism or service of thanksgiving, we would love to hear from you, so please come along and see us.