Baptism & Thanksgiving Services for Children
People have different reasons for wanting a service for their child, whether it is to celebrate the birth, publicly give thanks to God, or introduce the child to the life and worship of the Christian church. There are two types of service and either might be appropriate. It all depends on what you want to express and to commit yourselves to.
Adult Baptism
If you are an adult or young person interested in baptism please contact us and we will talk through faith and how the preparation process works.
Thanksgiving and Dedications
The thanksgiving service gives you a chance to express thanks to God for the gift of your child, to ask for his blessing and to pray for his help as parents. You will be presented with a certificate to mark the occasion. In some churches this is called child dedication.
You can ask people to act as sponsors; this is a similar role to that of godparent. Thanksgiving is different from a baptism in that no water is used and the parents may or may not wish to commit themselves explicitly to Jesus Christ and to participating in the life and worship of the church. Thanksgiving could be a good option if you’re uncertain about making the baptism promises. It may be followed by baptism at a later date when you have seen more of the church’s life and been able to give the baptism promises more thought.
Baptism
The baptism service is for those who want to make a more specific Christian commitment in the upbringing of their children. This is also known as a Christening. In the service, parents and godparents make a public declaration of their Christian faith. They also promise, among other things, to ‘be responsible for seeing that the child is nurtured in the faith and life of the Christian community.’ In other words, parents promise to come to church regularly, and bring their child with them so that they are leading the way for their child to have an active participation in church family life. The baptism itself symbolises the new start that God gives to those who join the community of Christ’s followers, his church.
How do I arrange a Baptism or Thanksgiving?
First, come along to a service on Sunday morning. You’ll have a chance to see what we do when we gather for worship as a church family, and to meet the clergy and church members. We love to have babies and young children in the church and they are welcome to move around and participate in the service. We also have a “Rainbow Room” that is soundproof, has windows to the sanctuary, and has the service available through our sound system if you would like somewhere to attend to a baby’s needs or if they need to play with some toys!
Time to think – it’s worth spending some time having a look at the Baptism and Thanksgiving services and deciding which one is most appropriate for you. Baptism or Thanksgiving can now be arranged with the Church Office. We will send you a form to fill out once a service date is arranged.
Preparation Conversation – Either a member of clergy or a church member will spend time with every family who are going to have a thanksgiving or baptism service for a child. This is a chance to chat about Jesus and the Christian Faith, and for you to ask questions about Church and what it means to bring up children in the Christian Faith.
We will talk about what baptism and the Christian Faith are all about as well as the practical details, and look through the promises that parents and Godparents will be making. If you’re opting for a thanksgiving service, you’ll have a chance to look through the service during the visit as well.
Anglican Church practice is that Baptisms or Thanksgivings are public commitments to which the church community also commit to support the candidate and the family so these always take place during a Sunday church service.
If you have any questions please get in touch with us using the contact form.