Baptism
Baptism services at StC are some of the most exciting times in the life of the church!
They are times of celebration as we welcome new members into the family of the church and thank God for the new life he gives us in Jesus Christ.
What is Baptism?
Baptism is the main mark of being a follower of Jesus and a member of his family, the Church.
We baptise adults who find faith in Jesus Christ, and also children of believing families.
When baptising infants, parents normally choose Godparents whose main role is to encourage their Godchild to grow up to love and follow Jesus. They can only do this effectively if they know and love Jesus too, so the church expects them to be baptised Christians.
Special promises are made at baptism - words of commitment to Jesus Christ and his church. For many of us, Baptism is the beginning of a faith journey, but honouring the commitment we make brings us closer to Jesus and helps us to understand his amazing love and purpose for our lives.
I’d like to arrange a Baptism, what should I do next?
Baptism is about committing to follow Jesus and becoming a member of his family, the Church, so the first step is always to come along to one of our regular Sunday services to meet the family.
If you are a young family seeking the baptism of an infant, why not come along to Explorers on a Sunday morning?
There is always tea, coffee and snacks after our morning services, so this is a great time to have an initial conversation with the Vicar and to meet other members of the Church family.
When you are ready, you can then begin to make arrangements with the Vicar for you or your child to be baptised. We believe in a God of welcome and unconditional love, so we will never say no!
When we say that you’re unconditionally loved by God, we don’t want you to take our word for it. We want you to experience and know His love for yourselves, which is why we encourage adults being baptised to continue to invest in their relationship with Jesus. It is also why we encourage parents to keep the promises that they make on behalf of their child, in order to nurture the child’s faith and to help them grow up to make their own personal, conscious commitment to Jesus.
Baptism is a big step, so we want to do all that we can to help you prepare for the big day. This involves coming along to a preparation session, which will help you think about what it means to follow Jesus. To help us keep to time, these sessions are 'adult only', for older candidates or the parents and godparents of infants.
Arrange a baptism now.
If you’re keen to arrange a baptism, either for yourself or for your child, we would love to hear from you. First of all, please contact the office to arrange an appointment to see a member of the clergy, before selecting the option below that is most appropriate to you and sending in your details.