Being Baptised          

We are delighted that you are thinking about baptism, or having your child baptised.  Baptism is about welcoming people into God’s family, and is the start of an amazing journey of faith for you or your child – a journey that will continue for all your life.

The baptism service (often called ‘Christening’) is held regularly at all three of our churches.  We welcome people of all ages for baptism.

You can be baptised, or have your child baptised, either in one of our main Sunday services or at a separate service.  If you choose the main Sunday service, we can have your baptism on most Sundays of the church’s year.  If you choose a separate service, baptisms are held on:

The first Sunday of the month at St John’s, at 12.30pm and 1.30pm.The third Sunday of the month at Holy Innocent’s, at 12.30pm and 1.30pm. We have up to two families at each service, and we fill up the 12.30pm service before beginning to book the 1.30pm service.

When you make an enquiry about baptism we will invite you to our drop-in parish office, held at St John’s on Mondays (term-time only) 6-7pm.  We’ll take some details and sort out a date for your service.  You are very welcome to bring babies and children to this meeting.

As part of your baptism service you will need to choose godparents for your child.  You should choose at least three godparents, two of the same sex as your child, and one of the opposite sex.  Parents can also be godparents to their own children.  Godparents must be baptised themselves. 

For more information about choosing godparents, see www.churchofenglandchristenings.org/for-parents/choosing-godparents

If you are an adult candidate for baptism, you do not need godparents, but you might like to choose a sponsor. We will invite you to attend a baptism preparation morning where we can talk about the meaning of baptism and talk you through the service.  You can also choose to have a home visit, and one or more of the baptism team will visit you to talk further.
 

Following your baptism service, we will do our best to keep in touch with you, reminding you that we are praying for you/your child, and inviting you to special events and services in the life of the church.

Our hope for all those who are baptised is that they will one day choose to affirm their faith themselves by seeking Confirmation.  We run Confirmation preparation classes for candidates – speak to one of the clergy for further information.

For information about Christenings in the Church of England see churchofenglandchristenings.org 

We look forward to welcoming you and your family to our churches.