“Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask Him!” Matthew 7:9-11 (NIV)
Children are precious to God and we are so pleased you are thinking of having your child baptised.
When your child is baptised, you are making a promise to bring them up knowing that God loves them as part of His Christian family – the Church.
During the baptism service you will be asked to bring your child to the front of the Church. We then give thanks for their new life, dedicate them to the worship and service of God, and pray that God will bless them and give them the gifts of faith, eternal life and the Holy Spirit.
You will also be asked to publicly affirm your faith by making the following declarations:
- Do you believe and trust in God the Father, source of all being and life, the one for whom we exist?
- Do you believe and trust in God the Son, who took our human nature, died for us and rose again?
- Do you believe and trust in God the Holy Spirit, who gives life to the people of God and makes Christ known in the world?
The Priest will also make a sign of the cross on your child’s forehead as a reminder of the way of salvation and of our call to follow Christ.
The Process
You will be invited to:
- Attend a baptism evening with a member of the Clergy and of the Baptism team.
- Read our baptism introduction pack, fill in a form and return it to the Parish Office.
- Arrange a date and time for the baptism service.
- Attend a baptism preparation evening with a member of the baptism team.
- Have a visit in your home from the member of the Clergy who will be conducting the baptism service, before the baptism takes place to run through the details.
If you were not baptised as a child, but have come to a deeper faith, baptism is a mark of having responded to the invitation of the love of God into a personal relationship with Him and signifies a personal commitment to try to follow the way of Jesus faithfully in this world.
If you would like your child to be baptised, or would like more information about baptism, contact the Parish Office.
Georgie and Julian Lamb
“We had our two youngest boys baptised during a family service at St James’ Church which is what we asked for. Hennie, the Vicar, came to see us and was so warm and friendly. She put us immediately at ease and her approach was very informal, which was great.
“For us, the baptism was really important as we have a church background and wanted to bring our boys into a church community. The people were so friendly, warm and welcoming which was very special.
“Hennie even asked our eldest son, Jacob, to choose a song for the service which he had been learning at school. She included him and he felt part of everything at the front of the church which he really liked.
“St James’ seemed like the natural place to have our boys baptised as it is such a large part of our local community, meets in St James’ School, which one of our boys attends, and has given us the opportunity to get to know local people.”