Baptism and Christening
Baptism marks the beginning of your journey with Christ. This stays with you throughout your life. At this service we welcome you into Gods Family. A person can be Baptised at any age, not necessarily whilst very young. They normally have three Godparents who should be practicing Christians. It is an informal occasion and is most often held during our Morning Service at 9:30am.
The Church of England expects that those moving towards Baptism will experience some form of preparation ahead of the services. For the Baptism of Infants this is orientated towards parents and godparents. Our practice at St. Michael's is to provide this during a home visit to meet both the child and parents some weeks beforehand. Here we can book the date and take all the relevant information for the Baptism to go ahead.
Holy Baptism
What is baptism all about?
Baptism marks the beginning of a journey with God which continues for the rest of our lives, the first step in response to God’s love. For all involved, particularly the candidates but also parents, godparents and sponsors, it is a joyful moment when we rejoice in what God has done for us in Christ, making serious promises and declaring the faith. The wider community of the local church and friends welcome the new Christian, promising support and prayer for the future. Hearing and doing these things provides an opportunity to remember our own baptism and reflect on the progress made on that journey, which is now to be shared with this new member of the Church.
The service paints many vivid pictures of what happens on the Christian way. There is the sign of the cross, the badge of faith in the Christian journey, which reminds us of Christ’s death for us. Our ‘drowning’ in the water of baptism, where we believe we die to sin and are raised to new life, unites us to Christ’s dying and rising, a picture that can be brought home vividly by the way the baptism is administered. Water is also a sign of new life, as we are born again by water and the Spirit. This reminds us of Jesus’ baptism. And as a sign of that new life, there may be a lighted candle, a picture of the light of Christ conquering the darkness of evil. Everyone who is baptized walks in that light for the rest of their lives.
As you pray for the candidates, picture them with yourself and the whole Church throughout the ages, journeying into the fullness of God’s love. Jesus said, ‘I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.’ John 10.10