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Christenings
and Thanksgiving for Children
Holy Trinity Meanwood is a vibrant family church with loads going on
for children. Given this and our place in the heart of the community
and our links with Meanwood CE School, it is perhaps not surprising
that we have many enquiries about Christenings.
We
want to welcome you in church and help you find the right kind of
celebration for your family. We offer two different kinds of
services for infants and young children, Thanksgiving for the Gift
of a Child and Holy
Baptism.
We
will be delighted to offer baptism of older children and adults,
after apporpriate preparateion.
Sometimes
an Emergency Baptism is required. Please contact the priest in charge.
Thanksgiving for the Gift of a
Child
The birth or adoption of a child is a cause for celebration!
Many
people who are not regular church-goers, as well as those who are, find
that they want to give thanks to God for their child. In this
service we give thanks for the miracle of life and ask for God’s
blessing on your child.
This service can be a private celebration, with just family and friends
present, or, if you are regular worshippers at Holy Trinity and would
like to share the celebration with your church family, it can be a part
of the main worship on Sunday morning.
Once a date has been agreed and all the necessary details recorded, no
further preparation is required.
This service is not the same as Holy Baptism (also called Christening)
and is not an alternative to it. If you choose a service of
thanksgiving, baptism can still follow at a later date.
The service of thanksgiving is perfect for:
-
anyone
who has
read about the service of Holy Baptism (below) and feels that it is not
right for them, but still want to give thanks to God and have a prayer
of blessing for their child.
-
or
parents who
see this service as a preliminary to baptism.
-
or
parents who
do not wish their children to be baptised immediately.
Holy Baptism
(also known as Christening)
The Baptism of a child is
about a public commitment to bring the child up to know and love and
serve the Lord Jesus, and share in regular worship at church When an adult or older child is baptised, they
declare before God and
the regular congregation of the church that they believe in Jesus
Christ.
When a baby or young child is baptised, the parents and Godparents make
these promises on behalf of the child. Later, when older, the
child may wish to say these promises for themselves at a service of
Confirmation.
People are normally baptised in their own parish church. It is possible
for people to be baptised in a church in another parish if there is a
good reason for this, but this can only happen if the goodwill of their
own parish priest has been sought.
Baptisms at Holy Trinity Meanwood take place during our regular Sunday
worship, usually at a service of Holy Communion on the third Sunday of
the month.
Because of the nature of the declarations and promises made in the
baptism service, parents, and were possible, Godparents, must attend a
preparation evening, where everything is explained. You will
also
be invited to attend church, if you are not already doing so.
We
aim to make this a welcoming, comfortable and enjoyable experience for
you!
The baptism service will contain core elements which have been central
to Christian baptism from very early times. These include:
- The renunciation of the
devil and all
that is evil and a declaration of turning to Christ, made by the
parents and Godparents on the child’s behalf.
- The making of the sign of
the cross on
the child’s forehead to signify that henceforth they belong to Christ
and must be prepared to live as His followers.
- A declaration of
Christian belief made
by the parents and/or Godparents.
- Baptism with water in the
name of the
Father, Son and Holy Spirit
- A prayer that those
baptised may grow
in holiness and may come eventually to share in the life of God’s
eternal kingdom.
- A declaration of the
responsibility of
parents and Godparents to bring up baptised Children to follow
Christ.
The
congregation promises
to uphold those who are being baptised in their new life in Christ,
joins in the declaration of Christian faith, and welcomes those who
have been baptised as new members of the Church.
Godparents
The role of Godparents is to speak on behalf of the infant being
baptised during the baptism service and to support the parents in
bringing the child up as a Christian within the family of the Church,
so that that they will confess the faith for themselves and come in due
time to confirmation.
In order that they can fulfil their role Godparents need be
able
to make the declarations and promises in the baptism service, which is
why the Church of England requires all Godparents to be baptised
themselves and normally to be confirmed as well. That is
also why
it is not possible for a member of another faith to be a
Godparent.
Those who are baptised as infants normally have to have at least three
Godparents. At least two of them have to be of the same sex as the
infant and one has to be of the opposite sex. If it proves impossible
for there to be three Godparents it is possible for a baptism to take
place with one Godfather and one Godmother. Parents can be
Godparents to their own children providing there is at least one other
Godparent as well.
Baptism
of Adults and Older Children
Adults and older children will make the baptismal delcarations for
themselves. Therefore a longer, more detailed course of
preparation is required. We aim for the course to be relaxed
and
enjoyable as well as informative and faith deepening.
Confirmation will usually follow soon after baptism.
Emergency
Baptism
In an
emergency, such as when a new born infant is very seriously ill,
it is possible for people to be baptised anywhere. Contact
the
Priest in Charge
For more information
For more
information on Thanksgiving for the birth of a child or
Baptism of infants and young children, please contact Supo Ogunyinka.
For more
information about baptism of an adult or older child please contact the priest in charge.
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