Baptisms and Christenings

What is Baptism?

Baptism in the Bible is the way the early Christians showed that they were dedicating their lives to following Jesus Christ.

Exactly the same is true today; those who want to put their faith and trust in Jesus are baptized and set out on the journey of Christian faith.

The use of water in all baptisms is symbolic of new life where we believe that we die to sin and are raised to new life in Jesus. By the power of the Holy Spirit, we are united to Jesus’ death and resurrection to become his children alive in him and with him.

What is a Christening?

In short a Christening is a baptism of a young baby or child.

Children of Christian parents are baptized on the understanding that they are brought up as Christians within the family of the church.

Since children cannot make the Christian statement of faith in Jesus for themselves, their parents and godparents make it on their behalf and promise before God to bring them up as Christians within the family of the church, passing on their own faith in Jesus to their children by how they pray, live and worship in the local church community.

The Service

Every baptism service takes place in our main 10am Sunday morning service -this is so the whole church family can welcome and celebrate with you on this joyful occasion.

We will ensure there are plenty of seats for all of the family and friends intending to come to the service. For children in particular we will make sure that they can see what is taking place so often invite them towards the front at the point the baptism takes place.

After the service there will be hot drinks and refreshments that everyone is welcome to stay for.

Preparing for Baptism

Baptism is such an important and life-changing event (for a child as much as for an adult) that we need to spend time thinking it through well before the day of the baptism itself.

For adults baptisms, we will arrange a convenient time with you to talk through the meaning of the promises you will be making and hearing about your story of faith.

For child baptisms, we will arrange a convent time to meet with the child’s parents to similarly talk through the meaning of the promises you will make, offering help and guidance about how you can bring up your child in the Christian faith. We’ve found that parents really value this time and opportunity.

Godparents

The role of godparents is to pray for and support their godchild as they grow in the Christian faith. Because so much of this role involves passing on faith to the godchild, a godparent needs to be a baptised practicing Christian themselves.

There is no upper limit to the number of godparents a child may have but most children have between two and four. The minimum number is two, a godfather and a godmother.

During the service the godparents make the same promises on behalf of themselves and their godchild with the child’s parents.

FAQ’s

  • To begin a conversation about a baptism service get in touch with us here.

  • Not all parents will want to get their child baptised as they will want their child to make their own decision about faith when they are older. If this is you we are able to do a service of Thanksgiving for your child. To find out more click here. Do get in touch if this is something you'd like to discuss.

  • Yes! People of all ages can get baptised having been well prepared for the life-changing event. For adults we tend to do this in a full-immersion pool.

  • Click here to see a Church of England website which includes a range of guides for parents and godparents

  • Yes! We will ensure that all those seeking to get baptised are prepared in the right way and are aware if anyone else will be getting baptised on the same day.