Thinking about Infant Baptism (for adult baptism please speak to Revd Steve Bailey)
Baptism, sometimes called christening, is a very important step for parents, for godparents and for your child. Baptism of a child demands careful thought and good preparation.
This description is to help you understand what baptism means and how we go about helping parents and godparents prepare for baptism at St Paul’s Church.
Introduction
Baptism is a sign of God’s love and His wish that children might become, through faith in Jesus Christ, inheritors of eternal life. By baptism children become members of the Church of God. Because children are too young to profess faith themselves, promises are made on their behalf by parents and godparents. They declare their own faith, and their resolve to pass this on to the children, by teaching them, by praying with them, and by bringing them to church to share in worship, and grow up with other Christian children.
Why might you want your child to be baptised?
In our experience, parents have a range of reasons for wanting their child to be baptised. We would be happy to discuss the baptism of your child and the reasons you might have.
So what is baptism?
In the New Testament, we read about adults becoming Christians and being baptised by the church.
Before long, adult Christians brought their children for baptism into the family of the Church. This pattern has continued down the centuries. Since small children are too young to make any declaration of faith, parents and godparents stand before the church to declare the faith that they hold, which they promise to bring the children into as they grow up.
The promises and declarations form as much a part of the ceremony as the moment when the minister marks the sign of the cross on the child’s forehead, sprinkles them with water from the font and baptises them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
If you live in the Parish of St Paul’s Oadby, you are entitled to bring your child to baptism here. But preparation involves more than booking a convenient date. Please get in touch with us and we’ll talk with you about our three-session preparation course. Each session takes about one hour. In a friendly atmosphere and with the help of a DVD and a short guide, it leads through the important aspects of Christian baptism.
Godparents
Godparents are friends chosen by parents to help bring up children in the Christian faith until they can make promises for themselves at their own Confirmation.
The Church normally requires at least three godparents; two of the same sex as the child and one of the opposite sex; parents can also be godparents. Godparents should be baptised and confirmed members of the Church.
The role of Godparents is to help parents bring up the child in the life of the church, by their example and the quality of life they lead.
Please speak with us before you invite people to become godparents. There are important requirements for godparents and it’s a pity for people to discover that they are unable to fulfil the role after they’ve been asked.
When will the baptism take place?
We baptise within our regular ten o’clock service on Sunday mornings. St Paul’s is a very friendly church and we always welcome visitors, and we’ll make a special effort to see that your family and friends have a great time.
With regards to dates we are happy to discuss your requirements with you and do our best to accommodate you. Our programme of services is usually planned well in advance and we want to do our best to offer a service that will be really special for you.
We’ll get in touch and arrange a meeting with one of our baptism preparation team. They’ll give you some information and make arrangements for the preparation course.
We have a reputation for friendliness and on most Sundays there are new people in our congregation, so don’t feel that you’re the only newcomers. We have groups for children and young people during our services. See our children & youth pages for details
NOTES
All friends and family members who wish to take part in the service will be very welcome to join us.
Guests, particularly parents and godparents, are asked to be in Church at least 10 minutes before the start of the service.
Videos and cameras may not be used during the service, but you are welcome to take photographs in Church after the service. Services are usually live streamed and we can supply you with a link to the service should family members or friends be unable to attend the service.
