Baptism

‘As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.’ (Galatians 3.27)

Baptism is the start of the Christian life, and can take place at any age. The candidate is marked with the sign of the cross and has water poured over them three times at the font ‘in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit’. They are anointed with fragrant oil and given a candle with which to ‘shine as a light in the world, to the glory of God the Father’.

If a child being baptized is too young to be able to answer for themselves, those seeking baptism for the child (the parents and godparents) make commitments on the child’s behalf, and promise to ‘pray for them, and help them to follow Christ’. To show that a child who is being baptized is entering a new family, the family of the church, they are given godparents. Preferably a child has three godparents, two of their own sex and one of the opposite sex, who must themselves have been baptized.

Since being baptized means joining the Christian community, we prefer to conduct baptisms in the main service at 10.30am on Sundays, but it is also possible for a baptism to take place after this, at 12 noon. If you are seeking baptism for your child or for yourself, we would be delighted to hear from you: please contact the Church Administrator, Hannah Deasy.