Child Baptism
The arrival of a new baby often sparks a desire to celebrate life and give thanks for God’s blessings. It is a wonderful time to celebrate with your loved ones.
We’d love to help you plan your child’s special service; a Christening or Thanksgiving. We offer two types of services for parents who want to celebrate the gift of a child: baptisms (commonly referred to as christenings) and dedications.
Baptisms are the more traditional type of Christening. It is where water is used to commit your child to God. In infant baptism, parents tend to be Christians themselves (although not always) and are usually committed to the Church community their child is baptised in.
As such they make promises on behalf of a child and welcome them into the Church family, in the hope that the child will continue on the path of being a disciple of Jesus, supported by the Church community.
Dedication
Dedication is an act of coming before God to thank him for his gift of children and to make promises to raise the child well and bring them to a place where they might make their own decision about baptism when they are ready. Leaving the decision to the child when they are older is a key component of Dedication; many Christians would choose this option despite already being part of a church community.
If you’d like to find out more about baptisms and dedications have a read through our frequently asked questions below.
Can I have my child baptised or dedicated at St Mary’s?
If you live in our parish or regularly attend services with us then you can have a baptism or dedication at St Mary’s.
When do baptisms and dedications take place?
Baptisms and dedications can either happen during a Sunday morning church service or separately on a Sunday afternoon, although baptisms traditionally take place during a service
How much does it cost?
There is no cost for a baptism or dedication.
Full Immersion Baptism
We also hold full immersion adult baptism services for those who want to publicly proclaim their Faith in Jesus.
When someone decides to make a commitment of faith in Jesus, there is an opportunity for baptism as a believer. This is a very special moment on their journey of faith.
This is usually by full immersion in water, as a symbolic way of showing that the person is leaving their old way of life under the water, and being raised back to a new way of life in Christ as they come up out of the water, reminding us of Jesus’ death and resurrection. It is also about receiving God’s Spirit for service in the church and in the world.