“Our lives have changed for the better” – how a family decided to get baptised after finding a church that felt like home

A family who returned to church earlier this year after years of non-attendance describe their journey of finding community and opportunities to deepen their faith through baptism and confirmation.

Emily and Sam Morrish, along with their daughters Daphne and Ella, began attending Holy Trinity Church in the Diocese of Hereford.

Emily said: “We first attended Holy Trinity on Easter Sunday, which was a busy service with lots of new faces and activities. My eldest daughter loved it so much that she wanted to know when she could come back again.

“We really liked the strong family atmosphere and immediately felt welcome.”

After a few weeks, Emily and Sam began to enquire about baptism and confirmation.

These are significant steps in the Christian faith, where individuals publicly affirm their beliefs. Baptism marks the beginning of a person's journey as a follower of Christ. For those baptised as young children, confirmation can serve as a personal commitment to faith later in life.

Both Emily and Sam grew up around faith, though stopped going to church when they were young. Sam’s mother encouraged him to find faith for himself. He discovered his faith as a teenager and has since searched for a church community that felt like home. 

Sam said: “We both finally feel like we have found that place. Getting confirmed together felt like it was perfect timing and was meant to be. It has made us feel closer to each other spiritually.” 

Revd Ruth Hulse, vicar of Holy Trinity, said: “Emily and Sam and their gorgeous girls, Ella and Daphne, have been a real blessing to the community at Holy Trinity.” 

Emily added: “Our lives have changed for the better since attending Holy Trinity, and the welcome our little family has received has been beyond anything we expected. We can’t wait to carry on our journey of faith together, with the next step being the girls' baptisms in September.”