The Christian life is about a journey. It’s about a journey of understanding who God is more and more and experiencing his love for us in all sorts of ways. Baptism is the start of this journey. We have put together this short guide to offer you some information about what we believe baptism is and what the process of baptism looks like here at St. Michael’s.
We understand baptism to be at the heart of our identity as Christians and the foundation of our relationship with God. In baptism, we believe we are made new in Christ and become part of his body, the church. The baptism service reminds us, through baptism, we are ‘children of the same heavenly father.’
Everyone, no matter what their background or past is precious to God, and God only wants the best for us. As a church, we believe this to be so true and important that we are committed to supporting families in all situations and circumstances – baptism is just one of the ways we do this.
Baptisms normally take place in the 10am Sunday morning service. If you would like to discuss a possible future Baptism, in the first instance, please contact us through the usual channels or submit the Enquiries Form below and one of our baptism co-coordinators, either Chris or Sally, will be in touch.
Once we have received contact from you, we will invite you to join us on a Sunday so we can get to meet you and talk you through what happens at a baptism service. You will be given a baptism pack on this occasion and then invited to book a Preparation Session. On the Sunday before your baptism again we ask you join us so we can run through the service with you. This meeting also gives the parents or candidate an opportunity to ask any questions they wish and to be shown around the Church.
At a baptism promises are made by the candidate or adults, on their behalf, if they are a child. In the case of a child, they would have Godparents. For each child there should be 3 Godparents, each of which will need to have been baptised themselves. If you wish to have someone support your child but they are not baptised or cannot make the service, then they can be sponsors. Normally two of the Godparents are of the same gender as the child.
Baptism services are completely free of charge and we will discuss practicalities in more detail with you as we plan the service together. A rich source of information on child baptisms (i.e. Christenings), for parents and godparents alike, can be found at the Church of England’s own special Christenings website, whilst further information regarding mature baptisms is available at the Church of England’s main website.