Baptisms

What is Baptism?

Baptism is a ceremony in which you are welcomed as a new member of the Christian church and it marks the start of a lifetime journey of faith. A life of faith that brings forgiveness for the bad stuff in our lives, healing and restoration and an opportunity to grow in knowledge and love of God to help us live a life of peace and joy. Baptism is about starting this journey of discovery with God, and being in church with other Christians to give us support along the way.

Baptisms are a wonderful occasion where you can celebrate the arrival of your child. But they are not just for babies. We are very happy to baptise adults who want to become part of God’s family.

What happens at Baptism?

If you a regular churchgoer, we will hold the baptism during our usual services. If not, we will hold a private baptism where we do the following things:

  • Give thanks to God for the gift of life
  • Make declarations, turning away from a life of sin and turning to faith in God
  • Make promises to walk the journey of faith
  • Commit to those being baptised, helping them to discover what it means to live a Christian life.
  • Then we baptise them with water (generally just a gentle sprinkle) and make the sign of the cross on the forehead
  • Give the candidate a candle

If the family are regular church goers, then the priest will present them with a certificate and ask the congregation to promise to care for the
child as he/she grows in faith while welcoming him/her into the church family.

If the family are not regular church goers, then they will be asked back to either a normal service or to C-SAW to receive their certificate and be welcomed into the church.

What next?

  • Please join us at church or C-SAW so that we can get to know you before we arrange a date to meet you
  • After a couple of attendances, we’ll arrange to come and see you.
  • We’ll watch a DVD and chat together about what you would like to do – choosing either baptism or thanksgiving.
  • We can only book a date when we visit

We look forward to meeting you and your family!