infant baptism

During a christening your child will be baptized with water. It’s the start of an amazing journey of faith for your child and a special day for all your friends and family. Your child is precious to you and precious to God. You want the very best for them, and so does God. You want them to make right choices in life, for themselves and for others.

A christening is just the beginning of this and so much more.

Over the years to come, it’s a journey you’ll share together with your child by:

Being there for your child to talk to about the bigger questions of life – questions about hope, faith and love.
Praying for your child through the ups and downs of their faith journey.
Showing them practically how to make those good choices in life.
Helping them to learn more about their Christian faith, through their church and in other ways.

So it’s a commitment to start as you mean to go on.

CHOOSING GODPARENTS

Godparents are really important. Choosing them is one of the biggest decisions you will make. Whether you are still thinking or have already asked some special friends, discover more about what it means to be or have godparents. Whether you have questions about gifts or want to explore the promises, there are answers to your questions here.

Choosing the right people as godparents for your child is a big decision. Here are some key things which might help you decide:

Godparents will be people who’ll be in touch with your family for many years to come. They may be relatives or friends of the family.
They’ll be people who you know you can trust and who’ll be there for your child to talk about the bigger questions in life; questions about faith, hope and love.
They should feel ready to make some big promises about faith for your child in church.
Every child should have at least three godparents, two of the same sex and at least one of the opposite sex to your child. Although there is no official maximum number of godparents, three or four is usual. If you’d like more than that, talk to your vicar about the practicalities and they’ll be pleased to advise.
Parents may be godparents for their own children, providing they have at least one other godparent.
Because of the very special role they have in supporting your child’s faith journey, godparents must be baptized themselves. Ideally they should be confirmed too, but check with the vicar about local policy on this.
If you’re thinking about asking someone who is under 18 to be a godparent, talk to your vicar first. There’s no minimum age for godparents, but they must be mature enough to understand the responsibilities they’re taking on; your vicar can help you decide if this is the right choice for your child and the young godparent.

You can talk to your vicar about choosing godparents and involving them in the christening preparation.

Follow this link to the Church of England web page to learn more:

churchofenglandchristenings.org

Contact the Rector on 01273 890006 or email through this site or revannedunlop@gmail.com