[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n
Baptism for babies and children takes place in a service often called a Christening.\u00a0 In this service parents thank God for his gift of life, make a decision to start their child on a journey of faith and godparents promise help and support.\u00a0 The church also promises to welcome the child and to pray for the family.<\/p>\n
For your child, being baptized at a Christening marks the start of a lifelong journey of faith as part of the local and worldwide Christian family.<\/p>\n
Everyone is welcome to have a their baby or child baptized at a Christening in their parish church and with around 10,000 babies and infants being Christened each month in the Church of England, it remains a popular decision for parents.<\/p>\n
Baptism marks the beginning of a journey with God which continues for the rest of our lives.\u00a0 This first step is a response to God’s love.\u00a0 It is also a celebration, a time to come together with family and friends, remembering that your child is loved by God, is part of a wider community and has a place with God’s people.<\/p>\n
There is no difference between a Christening service and a Baptism service.\u00a0 Some churches will use the word ‘baptism’ and some the word ‘christening’.\u00a0 Babies are Baptised during a christening service, just as couples are ‘married’ during a ‘wedding’ service.<\/p>\n
Yes, so long as they have not<\/em> been Baptized already.\u00a0 The Church of England welcomes all babies, children and families for Christenings – whatever shape that family takes.\u00a0 You do not have to be married to ask for a Christening for your child.\u00a0 You do not have to have been a regular churchgoer – as parents, you do not even have to have been Christened yourselves.\u00a0 Everyone is welcome at their local church.<\/p>\n Godparents are some of the most important people at the Christening.\u00a0 Godparents are not the people who will care for your child should anything happen to you; arrangements for this would normally be made by a Will.\u00a0 Rather, they should be people who will be there for your child and help them think about the bigger questions in life – questions of love, hope and faith.<\/p>\n Every child should have at least 3 godparents, 2 of the same sex as your child\u00a0and at least 1 of the opposite sex to your child.\u00a0 Parents may be godparents for their own children, providing they have at least one other godparent.\u00a0 Godparents must be baptized themselves and be\u00a0old enough to make some serious promises on behalf of the child.<\/p>\n At your baby’s Christening, water will be blessed and poured on the baby’s head – this is the baptism of your baby (the word ‘baptism’ means ‘to be immersed in water’).\u00a0 The baby will be signed with the cross and a special oil may be used for this.\u00a0 A candle or other gift from the church may be given.\u00a0 Godparents and parents will make promises on behalf of the baby and prayers will be offered for the baby and the family.\u00a0 There may also be readings and hymns, which you may be able to choose – ask the vicar if you have any special requests.[\/vc_column_text][vc_btn title=”Click here for further information about the baptism service” color=”primary” align=”left” link=”url:http%3A%2F%2Fecwst.com%2Findex.php%2Fbaptisms%2Fbaptism-service%2F|||”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n If you wish your child to be baptised in\u00a0one of our churches, or have any questions, please come along to one of our Baptism Booking Evenings detailed as follows:<\/p>\n Prior to your child being baptised, you will be asked to attend a preparation session.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" [vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] Information about having your child baptised in one of our churches Baptism for babies and children takes place in a service often called a Christening.\u00a0 In this service parents thank God for his gift of life, make a decision to start their child on a journey of faith and godparents promise help and support.\u00a0 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ecwst.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1324"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ecwst.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ecwst.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ecwst.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ecwst.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1324"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/ecwst.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1324\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2652,"href":"https:\/\/ecwst.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1324\/revisions\/2652"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ecwst.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1324"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}What about godparents?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
What happens in the service?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
So what do we do next?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\n