Introduction to Baptism
Whether you call it christening or baptism we are here to welcome you and those being baptised as part of our church family. A baptism service is a special service where those being baptised will be prayed for, where parents and Godparents will make important promises, water is poured over the person being baptised to signify being made clean and often a sign of the cross is made, a candle is given to you in the service to help remind you to “Shine as a light in the world to the Glory of God”. It’s a special day for not only the person being baptised but all those family, friends and church members who are there to be part of it.
Why Baptise your child?
We baptise children to bring them into the family of God. Parents and Godparents make promises to help raise the child in the Christian faith. It is the start of a lifetime journey in the Christian faith and can start your child on the right path for the future.
How do I get my child baptised at your church?
If you're already part of the church simply ask the Vicar to get things started. If you don't normally attend one of our churches we recommend that you come along to see what the church is like and to meet some of the church family. There are services for both adults and children and you might be interested in coming along to one of our Family services or Tea Time Together our relaxed afternoon service for families with younger children.
For the purposes of instruction in baptism and the Christian faith we normally ask families to take part in a couple of sessions where we talk together about what baptism is and what it means for your child to be baptised.
When do we baptise?
We normally baptise during one of our main services on a Sunday, once you're prepared as a family for baptism then we can arrange for your child to be baptised during one of our services, often this will be with a couple of other families who are also getting their child baptised.
What about Godparents?
Normally a child should have three Godparents, two of which should be the same sex as the child and one of the opposite sex. Godparents should be baptised and confirmed themselves. Godparents make promises to help support you and your child in the Christian faith If you are finding it difficult to find enough Godparents you can talk to the Vicar about either only having two Godparents or those who are baptised but not confirmed.
How do I proceed?
Please do contact us and we’d be happy to talk with you about baptism. If you don't have all the information in the enquiry form below just complete the bits you can hear, we'd love to hear from you and we'll be in touch.
You can also read more
The Church of England have a website available with lots of helpful information that you can also look at.
Enquire here about baptism in our churches
Are you interested in Adult Baptism? Enquire here instead.