1. What is baptism?
Baptism is a central part of any church's practice and belief. At a child's baptism the parents and godparents publicly declare their belief in the Christian faith which includes
i. Promises to raise their children to learn and know about Jesus
ii. Promises to come to church regularly
iii. Promises to live life according to Christian standards

2. I don't attend church, does that matter?
Yes, it does.
If you are going to have your child baptised you need to fulfil the obligations that the baptism promises require of you (see above).

3. If I don't attend church and still want to have my child baptised what should I do?
You need to begin to put into practice the three key promises that you will make at para.1 above. This means we would expect the following of the parents

i. If you are going to raise your child to learn and know about Jesus you need to begin to learn about the Christian faith yourself. This will involve attending one of our Christian basics classes. Please see the Vicar for details.
ii. During this time we would expect you to begin to attend our church services details of which can be found on this website.
iii. Your lifestyle should change to reflect your Christian commitment.
So if, for example, you are living together without having married, we would not conduct a baptism until you were committed to one another in marriage (otherwise your lifestyle is in direct opposition to the statements you make publicly during the baptism service).

4. If we are unwilling or unable to fulfil the requirements Under paragraph 3, what next?
We can offer a Service of Thanksgiving. This is a short service to thank God for the birth of your child in which we pray for God's blessing on your child and family. Unlike the baptism, it involves no promises and no statements of faith. This means that, as long as you believe in God, you may participate fully in the service without committing yourself any more to church than you do now.

5. If we go ahead with the baptism can we book a date now?
It is our normal policy at St Barnabas, in line with the rules of the Church of England, not to fix a date for baptism until we are satisfied that you are adequately prepared for it. We would, therefore, be unlikely to fix a date until after you had attended the  course/meetings on Christian basics.

6. Are there any restrictions on who can be a godparent?
The Church of England rules state that a godparent should be both baptised and confirmed.

7. Are there any fees payable for a baptism? There are no fees payable for the service or the certificate, however, the church welcomes a donation.

Baptism - What is it?

Baptism is a very special service that Jesus Christ gave to His Church. Baptism takes place in the church at one of our services and involves being immersed in or sprinkled by water.
Water is used throughout the Bible as a symbol of cleansing, new life and the Holy Spirit. So baptism is meant to be a picture of these things.
Its a sign of being made clean - not a physical cleansing like when we have a bath, but being made clean before God. Every one of us is born with a heart that automatically rebels against God. We prefer to do things that please ourselves rather than God. This is sin. And the sin that is within us shows itself through the wrong things we do. So being washed in baptism is a picture of what God has done for us. Jesus Christ, who is God the Son, came and died on the cross so we can be right before God the Father. He can make us clean, washing away our sin. The Bible says:
But when the kindness and love of God our Saviour appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, Titus 3:4,5
Baptism also speaks of new life or new birth. Often we try to do the right things and resolve to do better, like new year's resolutions, but fail. Have you ever wondered why? It's this bias again. We have a heart that is biased towards an easy life and not one that serves God. If you have ever tried to keep the 10 commandments you quickly realise that it's impossible. God knows that. He didn't give us His law to make us feel inadequate. Listen again to what the Bible says:
...the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith. Galatians 3:24
What we really need is something more radical than a law to keep. We need to be given something or changed. We cannot do this ourselves so God promises to do it for us. He promises to those who trust in the Lord Jesus Christ new life.
Baptism is a sign of this. By immersing an adult or baby in water the picture is one of dying and rising again from the dead. Just as Christ died and rose again so we identify ourselves with him. The power at work in bringing Christ back from the dead is at work in Christians.
Finally baptism points us to the person behind this work. The Holy Spirit is vital if we are to experience anything of God's grace and power. When John the Baptist told the crowds about Jesus he observed that he would baptise with the Holy Spirit, whilst John could only baptise with water. One points to the other, but they cannot be confused. The minister can only baptise with water, but God can and does baptise with the Holy Spirit.
From all this we learn that baptism is a Christian rite, not simply a naming ceremony. We therefore offer baptism for those who confess the Christian faith and a thanksgiving service for those who prefer it.
If you wish to learn more about baptism and thanksgivings then please contact the Revd. Alan Hogarth on 01257 231868.

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