Baptisms
In baptism, we thank God for his gift of life and publicly acknowledge his love. In the Anglican Church it is common to baptise young children; this is sometimes known as christening.
Baptism is a 'sacrament' (holy ritual to symbolise grace) in the Christian tradition that is traced back to Jesus himself being baptised in the river Jordan.
Christening Information
During a christening your child will be baptised with water. It’s the start of an amazing journey of faith for your child and a special day for all your friends and family. The journey continues as you:
At St John’s we hold Christenings on the Second Sunday of each month at 11.30am and 12:15, with one family per service.
Once we have agreed on the date a member of the clergy will meet with you to talk through the service. This serves as an opportunity to prepare for this very important event. Information will also be given which can be handed onto the godparents to help them in their preparation for this important role.
After the Christening one of the Baptism visiting team, who you will have met on the day, will come to see you and bring you the certificate.
Godparents
One of the biggest decisions relating to a Christening is choosing godparents. Here are some key things which might help you decide:
We look forward to welcoming you to St John’s.
During a christening your child will be baptised with water. It’s the start of an amazing journey of faith for your child and a special day for all your friends and family. The journey continues as you:
- Are there for your child to talk to about the bigger questions of life – questions about hope, faith and love.
- Pray for your child through the ups and downs of their faith journey.
- Show them practically how to make those good choices in life.
- Help them to learn more about their Christian faith , through their church and in other ways.
At St John’s we hold Christenings on the Second Sunday of each month at 11.30am and 12:15, with one family per service.
Once we have agreed on the date a member of the clergy will meet with you to talk through the service. This serves as an opportunity to prepare for this very important event. Information will also be given which can be handed onto the godparents to help them in their preparation for this important role.
After the Christening one of the Baptism visiting team, who you will have met on the day, will come to see you and bring you the certificate.
Godparents
One of the biggest decisions relating to a Christening is choosing godparents. Here are some key things which might help you decide:
- Godparents will be people who’ll be in touch with your family for many years to come. They may be relatives or friends of the family.
- They’ll be people who you know you can trust and who’ll be there for your child to talk about the bigger questions in life; questions about faith, hope and love.
- They should feel ready to make some big promises about faith for your child in church.
- Every child should have at least three godparents, two of the same sex and at least one of the opposite sex to your child. Although there is no official maximum number of godparents, three or four is usual. If you’d like more than that, talk to the clergy about the practicalities and they’ll be pleased to advise.
- Because of the very special role they have in supporting your child’s faith journey, godparents must be baptised themselves. It is preferable that they are confirmed as well as they will be supporting your child on their journey towards confirmation.
We look forward to welcoming you to St John’s.
