Here you will find information
relating to baptism including the following:
Alternatively contact your local parish priest. Use the
box to the right to find your local parish church.
What happens
during the service?
Your child's baptism will normally take place
during the main Sunday service (usually in the morning). This
is so that your child can be seen to be joining the family of the
Church and be welcomed into membership. In turn the Church will
promise to support and pray for you and your
child.
The priest will make sure you know where to sit and
when you need to move. Some parts of the service will be for the
whole congregation to join in, some will be for you and the
godparents.
Part of the baptism service will normally take place
at the front of the church, but for the baptism itself, parents and
godparents are usually be asked by the priest to gather around the
font. (The font is a large basin on a pedestal, containing the
water for baptism.)
The priest will ask the parents and godparents to
make declarations on behalf of the child (see Making decisions and
promises).
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Making
decisions and promises
When you bring your child for baptism, you will be asked
to declare publicly on behalf of your child that you believe in God
and that you will bring your child up to follow Jesus.
You will be asked to answer, on your child's behalf, that
you have decided to turn away from everything which is evil or
sinful and instead to turn towards Christ.
The declarations made by you and the child's godparents
will be made in front of the church congregation; the local
Christian community will promise to support you and pray for you
and your child.
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Symbols and actions
used during the service
A number of important symbols and actions will be used
during the service itself:
- The sign of the cross - the
priest will make the sign of the cross on your child's forehead.
This is like an invisible badge to show that Christians are united
with Christ and must not be ashamed to stand up for their faith in
him.
The priest says:
Christ claims you for his own.
Receive the sign of his cross.
Do not be ashamed to confess the faith of Christ
crucified.
The priest may also invite you and the godparents to sign
the cross on the child's forehead after he or she has done
so.
- Water - the priest will
pour water on your child's head. Water is a sign of washing and
cleansing. In baptism it is a sign of being washed free from sin
and beginning a new life with God.
Water is a sign of life, but also a symbol of death. When
we are baptized, it is as though our old life is buried in the
waters (like drowning) and we are raised to new life with
Christ.
- Anointing - after baptism
in water, the minister may put the christening robe on the child
and anoint him or her with oil. This is a sign of the outpouring of
God's Holy Spirit.
The priest says:
May God, who has received you by baptism into his
Church,
pour upon you the riches of his grace,
that within the company of Christ's pilgrim
people
you may daily be renewed by his anointing
Spirit,
and come to the inheritance of the saints in
glory.
- The welcome - the church
congregation will say some formal words of welcome to acknowledge
that you child has joined the Church and to show how pleased they
are to have you among them.
- Candles - Jesus is the
Light of the World. A large candle may be lit in the church and you
may also be given a lighted candle at the end of the service as a
reminder of the light which has come into your child's
life.
It is up to you, the child's godparents and the church
community to help your child reject the world of darkness and
follow a way of life that reflects goodness and light and shares
this light with others.
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The
role of godparents
Godparents make the same promises on behalf of the child
being baptised as parents. Godparents promise to pray and support
the child and to help the parents to bring up the child in the
Christian faith. It is an important and responsible
role.
You should have at least three godparents: two of the same
sex as the child and one of the opposite sex. Godparents can be
family members or friends. However, it is important that you choose
people who will take an interest in your child's spiritual welfare
and who will pray for you and your child. Godparents must
themselves be baptized, and should also be confirmed.
Read more about becoming a Godparent.
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Thanksgiving
Service
You may wish to ask your parish priest about having a
service of Thanksgiving for the Gift of a Child. In this service,
you thank God for the gift of your child and the child is blessed.
You do not make the same promises as in the Baptism
service.
If you choose to have a Thanksgiving, you may also have a
Baptism service for your child at a later date.
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