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How to Book

Before Booking

Before we can take a booking, we ask you to attend the Enquirers' Meeting. After that you can book the baptism, but we encourage you to visit whichever church you are hoping to have the service in before you take you final decision to make the booking.

Making the Booking

All bookings are made through our parish office, whichever church you are planning to have the baptism in. The contact details are on the right hand side of this page. You will need to fill in a form, either in the office, or by post to make the booking. You will receive more details about this at the Enquirers' Meeting, as well as being able to ask questions there. Baptisms normally take place at 12.30pm and occasionally at 3.30pm, and are booked according to availability on a first come, first served basis.

What information do we need on the form?

You will need to give the following information which we need for the church registers:

• Your child's full name and date of birth
• Your names and occupations
• Your address, phone number and email for us to contact you
• The date of the baptism (to be booked with the secretary)
• Whether you have been baptised and / or confirmed yourselves
• The names of the godparents
• An assurance that the godparents have been baptised, and information about whether they have been confirmed.
• The date on which you plan to return for the welcome and to receive your child's baptism candle.

Choosing Godparents

You will be advised about the normal patterns (and legal restrictions) on choosing godparents at the Enquirers' Meeting. But a brief guide is that:

• They must be baptised and over 16
• If possible at least one of them should be confirmed, or have been baptised as an adult, so that they have made the baptism promises for themselves.
• The most traditional pattern is to have two godparents of the same gender as the child, and one of the opposite.
• The most common pattern nowadays is to have two couples.
• They can belong to another Christian denomination (e.g. Methodist, Catholic), and do not have to be Church of England.

How much does it cost?

We make absolutely no charge for baptism. It is free, because it is about the free gift of God's love, life and forgiveness. We do, however, encourage you to think hard about making an appropriate donation to the church, and inviting your family and friends to give generously on the collection plate. It costs us nearly £2,000 pounds each week to keep the four churches in this parish open for you and others to come and use.