Baptism

What is baptism?

In baptism, you as parents are thanking God for his gift of life, deciding to start your child on the journey of faith and asking for the Church's support.

For your child, baptism marks the start of a journey of faith, turning towards Christ and becoming a member of the local and worldwide Christian family. Your child's baptism will normally take place during the main Sunday morning service This is so that your child can be seen to be joining the family of the Church and be welcomed into membership. In turn, the Church will promise to support and pray for you and your child.

Baptism is a 'sacrament', a visible sign of God's love. In baptism, we are thanking God for his gift of life and publicly acknowledging his love. We are acknowledging that we all need to make a new start with God.

Making decisions and promises

When you bring your child for baptism, you will be asked to declare publicly on behalf of your child that you believe in God and that you will bring your child up to follow Jesus.

You will be asked to answer, on your child's behalf, that you have decided to turn away from everything which is sinful and to turn instead towards Christ.

The declarations made by you and the child's godparents will be made in front of the church congregation. The Christian community will promise to support you and to pray for you and your child.

For the baptism itself, parents and godparents will be asked by the Vicar to gather at the font. (The font is a basin set into a pedestal, containing the water for baptism.)

The Vicar will ask the parents and godparents to make declarations on behalf of the child.


Important symbols

A number of important symbols will be used during the service itself:

The sign of the cross

The Vicar will make the sign of the cross on your child's forehead. This is like an invisible badge to show that Christians are united with Christ and must not be ashamed to stand up for their faith in him.

Water

The Vicar will pour water on your child's head. Water is a sign of washing and cleansing. In baptism it is a sign of being washed free from sin and beginning a new life with God.

Water is a sign of life. When we are baptized our old life is buried in the water and we are raised to new life with Christ.

Anointing

After baptism in water, the Vicar will place a white stole on the child and anoint him or her with the oil of chrism. This is a sign of the outpouring of God's Holy Spirit.

The welcome

The church congregation will say some formal words of welcome to acknowledge that your child has joined the Church and to show how pleased they are to have you among them.

Candles - Jesus is called the light of the world. A large candle will be lit in the church and you will be given a lighted candle at the end of the service as a reminder of the light which has come into your child's life. It is up to you, the child's godparents and the church community to help your child reject the world of darkness and follow a way of life that reflects goodness and light, and shares this light with others.

When did baptism start?

Jesus was baptized in the river Jordan. This was a turning point in his life (you can read the story in the Bible, at the beginning of Mark's Gospel in the New Testament). Jesus told his followers to baptize others as a sign that they had turned away from their old life, and begun a new life as Christ's disciples.

Shouldn't our children make their own decisions?

People worry that they are imposing views on their children, but from the moment they are born, you make choices on their behalf. You don't wait until they are old enough to ask for milk before you feed them and in the same way it is right to give them spiritual nourishment and teach them about the love of God from an early age. When they are old enough they may choose to be confirmed and to make an adult affirmation of faith.

However, you may wish to talk over any doubts and concerns you have with the Vicar.
Fr. Lawrie Jenkins will be happy to help. Contact (0114 2377422) or EMAIL

        Confirmation

People who have been baptised may be confirmed provided they are old enough to renew for themselves the promises made for them at their baptism, by their parents and godparents. If you begin to feel you want to be received into the Church, you are welcome to discuss this with the vicar. St. Peter’s run informal courses for its confirmation candidates, one for adults and one for young people.

Confirmation usually takes place at a service of Holy Communion at which the bishop presides. He will use the opportunity of the sermon to talk to the candidates about the responsibilities of adult Christian life and they will then make their public profession of faith. Any unbaptised candidates are baptised and the bishop prays that the Holy Spirit will come upon those who are to be confirmed. They kneel before the bishop, who lays his hands on the head of each person.

The service continues with a celebration of the Holy Communion, where the newly-confirmed join in receiving the sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ.

Please Contact Fr. Lawrie Jenkins (0114) 2377422 (or EMAIL) who will be happy to discuss this with you.