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The baptism of a baby, a child or an adult would
normally take place during one of the morning services. This is
because baptism is about receiving the newly baptised into the
fellowship of faith and as such it is important for that same
fellowship of other believers, the church, to be present.
During the Baptism part of the service there will be the
following elements…
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A promise by the members of the church to welcome the
candidates and to support them in their Christian life.
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A declaration of what it means to live as a baptised
follower of Jesus Christ or in the case of infants &
children, a promise by parents & Godparents that they will
help the child to take their place in the life and worship
of the church and that they will walk alongside them in the
way of Christ
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A declaration of faith by the candidates for baptism or, in
the case of infants & children, by someone speaking on their
behalf.
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The making of the sign of the cross on the candidates for
baptism to show that they belong to Christ and must be
prepared to live as his followers.
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A prayer asking God to use the water of baptism to cleanse
the candidates from sin and give them new life as part of
his people.
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A declaration of Christian faith
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Baptism with water in the name of the Father, Son and Holy
Spirit
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Welcome into the church
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The presentation of a lighted candle to those who have been
baptised. This symbolises the fact that Christ said that
those who follow Him should glorify their heavenly Father by
shining like lights amidst the darkness of the world
(Matthew 5:14-16).
Godparents
The role of Godparents is often confused with the legal role of
guardians, but the two roles are entirely separate.
The role of Godparents is to speak on behalf of the infant being
baptised during the baptism service itself and to support the
parents in bringing the child up as a Christian within the
family of the Church, so that that they will confess the faith
for themselves and come in due time to confirmation.
In
order that they can fulfil their role Godparents need to be able
to make the declarations and promises in the baptism services,
which is why the Church of England requires all Godparents to be
baptised themselves and normally to be confirmed as well. That
is also why it is not possible for a member of another faith to
be a Godparent.
Those who are baptised as infants or children usually have three
Godparents; two of the same sex as the infant and one of the
opposite sex.
Preparation for baptism
The Team Vicar, Pauline, will come and talk with you about the
arrangements for the baptism and about the meaning of baptism.
We also invite all parent of children and infants who are being
baptised to a ‘Baptism Party’ which is an informal setting,
starting with a meal, to think about the significance of baptism
A service of thanksgiving
Many people seek baptism for their children because they want to
give thanks to God for their child’s arrival into the world.
From a Christian perspective, it is right that they should want
to do this, but, as can be seen from what has been said about
baptism above, this is not what the baptism service is for.
As
an alternative we can offer a service of
Thanksgiving for the Gift of a Child. This
service is about giving thanks for the miracle of new life, and
it is not an alternative to baptism since it is not part of the
process of Christian initiation. If a service of thanksgiving is
held, baptism may then follow at a later date.
Arranging a Baptism
Please contact the Team Vicar, Pauline
Scott. |