Baptism
Baptism is a sign of being received into the Christian Church. It is a way of saying “God loves you” and a sign of us responding to that love.
By being baptised we are saying we want to be a member of the church family – we would hope afterwards you will want to attend.
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God’s love is seen in so many ways. It can be seen in the way God has made the world. His love was show in human form in the life of Jesus and it surrounds us every day of our lives in the power of the Holy Spirit. Often God’s love can be seen through the actions of others.
God’s love is always forgiving and renewing; in baptism we respond to this love. All people are special to God. A Christian name is used in the service recognising that God loves the individual and is known to God by name.
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When people show love towards us we usually respond with love. As we recognise God’s love for us, his creation, and for all people we respond by faith. Our response is worship.
So, we baptise within worship as a sign of belonging to the God and the church giving thanks for God’s love and offering our love back to God.
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In Baptism we are asked these questions:
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Will you commit yourself to the Christian life of worship and service, and be open to the renewing power of God?
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Will you seek the strength of God’s Spirit as you accept the cost of following Jesus Christ in your daily life?
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Will you witness, by word and deed, to the good news of God in Christ, and so bring glory to God
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And we promise: "With God’s help I will"
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For baptism of Children we invite the parents or carers to make a similar promise on behalf of those committed to their care.
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We actively welcome enquiries for baptism of children and adults of any age.
Superstitions around infant baptism
Some people think they should have their child Christened (another name for Baptism) because:
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if any tragedy should strike the child down before baptism the child would not get to heaven.
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baptism will protect them from evil.
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baptism will make them grow up to be “good” people
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This is all nonsense!
God loves every child and always will whether we choose to have them baptised or not!
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Others might say that you should have your baby Christened because ‘it’s the right thing to do’ or even you need to get the baby named.
Again this is nonsense. The baby already has a name on the birth certificate!
There is nothing “right” about standing up in church and making promises you don’t intend to keep!
