Christenings & Thanksgivings
New Baby?
Congratulations on the birth of your baby. The Church of England has two services to offer after the birth of a child:
Thanksgiving & Blessing Service
This is a service in which parents, friends and family give thanks for the birth (or adoption) of a child and we pray for God’s blessing upon the baby, parents and home.
Thanksgivings take place at 2.00pm on the second Sunday of the month.
It may be followed later by baptism, indeed many families choose a Thanksgiving service because it allows the child to make up their own mind about the Christian faith when they are older, but it is not necessarily a first step to baptism. It is simply a different service - a service of saying Thank you and asking for God’s Blessing on your child, rather than one of making promises about active membership of the church.
Godparents are not required for a thanksgiving, but parents may wish to name "sponsors" who can fulfil the role of supporting the child and family.
Baptism Service
A service of Baptism is to welcome people (whatever their age) into the Christian faith and the church family. They take place on the 2nd Sunday of the month at 3.00pm.
Obviously your baby cannot make the decision to become a Christian for him/herself at the moment; so children are baptised on the understanding that at least one of their parents has chosen to follow Jesus and will bring the child up within the family of the church.
This will involve:
- Regular Church going as a family. Christianity is about being in a community, not just about us as individuals.
- Teaching the children from the Bible.
- Praying with them and teaching them to pray.
The baptism service involves parents and Godparents making promises of Christian commitment both for themselves and for the child. Godparents must by law be themselves baptised. It is obviously important that these promises, which are made before God, are understood and made honestly. Your child’s spiritual care is too important for you to want to make these promises lightly. Therefore we have a team of visitors who will come to your home and explain the services to you.
What Do I do Next?
The first step is to come to a Sunday service to find out more about us. Our 10.30am service has a crèche and groups for all ages of children. Speak to one of the clergy or a member of the baptism team afterwards.
One of the visiting teams will get in contact with you and arrange to come to your home to explain the different services and fix a date.
Congratulations on the birth of your baby. The Church of England has two services to offer after the birth of a child:
Thanksgiving & Blessing Service
This is a service in which parents, friends and family give thanks for the birth (or adoption) of a child and we pray for God’s blessing upon the baby, parents and home.
Thanksgivings take place at 2.00pm on the second Sunday of the month.
It may be followed later by baptism, indeed many families choose a Thanksgiving service because it allows the child to make up their own mind about the Christian faith when they are older, but it is not necessarily a first step to baptism. It is simply a different service - a service of saying Thank you and asking for God’s Blessing on your child, rather than one of making promises about active membership of the church.
Godparents are not required for a thanksgiving, but parents may wish to name "sponsors" who can fulfil the role of supporting the child and family.
Baptism Service
A service of Baptism is to welcome people (whatever their age) into the Christian faith and the church family. They take place on the 2nd Sunday of the month at 3.00pm.
Obviously your baby cannot make the decision to become a Christian for him/herself at the moment; so children are baptised on the understanding that at least one of their parents has chosen to follow Jesus and will bring the child up within the family of the church.
This will involve:
- Regular Church going as a family. Christianity is about being in a community, not just about us as individuals.
- Teaching the children from the Bible.
- Praying with them and teaching them to pray.
The baptism service involves parents and Godparents making promises of Christian commitment both for themselves and for the child. Godparents must by law be themselves baptised. It is obviously important that these promises, which are made before God, are understood and made honestly. Your child’s spiritual care is too important for you to want to make these promises lightly. Therefore we have a team of visitors who will come to your home and explain the services to you.
What Do I do Next?
The first step is to come to a Sunday service to find out more about us. Our 10.30am service has a crèche and groups for all ages of children. Speak to one of the clergy or a member of the baptism team afterwards.
One of the visiting teams will get in contact with you and arrange to come to your home to explain the different services and fix a date.