Making a commitment to Christ

The key to Baptism is commitment. You can be baptised as a baby, a child or an adult and the Church of England welcomes all families for Baptism – whatever shape that family takes.

At a baby or child’s Baptism godparents play a key role in promising to support the child in their journey of faith. Godparents do need to be baptised themselves in order to make these promises. If there are people you want to be part of your child’s life who are not baptised they can act as Sponsors and make their own non-faith commitment to your child.

As a person gets older and able to make decisions for themselves the need for Godparents disappears and adults make the commitments of faith for themselves. You can of course invite people to share the special occasion and support you in your faith journey.

Baptisms can take place during a Sunday morning service with the local congregation present, or they can be separate stand-alone services on a Sunday afternoon. They are conducted by members of the clergy team who will be very happy to work with you on hymn choices and other elements that make the service special and personal to your family. All our churches are delighted to welcome Baptism families, and you will be kept in prayer by the church community.

There is no charge for baptisms but there will be a retiring collection for the work of the church and sometimes other charities, especially those that support children.

If you think that Baptism is not really a commitment you want to make just yet for your child, the Church offers a service of Thanksgiving and Dedication. This is an opportunity to give thanks to God for the gift of a new child and mark the creation/growth of a new family unit.

For more information about christenings in an Anglican Church please visit Church of England Christenings or use the Contact form on this page to get in touch.