Your choices

babyBaptism or Thanksgiving

The Church offers a choice: the Baptism Service or the Thanksgiving Service. One of the many reasons parents give for enquiring about baptism is a wish to say thank you for their child, and to bless their child at the start of its life. Both these services offer that opportunity. The baptism service requires parents and godparents to make these promises. Some people find the words more than they can comfortably say, and choose the Thanksgiving service.

Why not do both?

You can choose to have a thanksgiving service before the baptism. You may want to take longer to make up your mind about baptism. Perhaps one of you thinks it would be better to let your child make their own choice when they're older, while the other is thinking of baptism now. Anyone can choose the thanksgiving service, and you may find the decision about baptism looks different afterwards.

What is Baptism really about?

In baptism we are responding to God’s love for us by committing ourselves to be followers of Jesus Christ and part of God’s family, the Church. In the service we thank God for his gift of love. Parents and godparents, together with the Church community, start a child on the journey of faith. You would be promising to go with them on that journey. This involves making serious decisions for yourself and for your child. You will need to think carefully about your own faith in God, about your Christian commitment and about how you put your beliefs into practice.

And a Service of Thanksgiving?

In this service we thank God for the gift of your child. He or she is blessed and offered the teaching of Jesus as a guide in life. Family and friends can be involved to support your child, but you do not have to make promises about a Christian upbringing or any declaration of your own beliefs. You might decide to choose this service instead of a Baptism. Your child can still be baptised in the future. If you want to know more before coming to a Baptism Enquirers’ meeting please contact one of the clergy.