Here at St John’s Church we welcome children to come to be Baptised or if preferred to have a service of Thanksgiving. The following policy sets out our expectations for this.
Child Baptism
It is such good news that you want to celebrate the life of your child and seek God’s blessing for them.
This information lets you know your options for thinking about which path is right for you.
Baptism Service
This is an opportunity for you to celebrate the life of your child. We at St John’s also see the baptism service as an opportunity for you to consider, not only committing the life of your child to God, but whether you and your family would think about joining us at St John’s Church and be part of the Christian community here in Hensingham. This service involves making promises before God and for that reason requires careful thought. Your child will be baptised with water as a symbol of God’s grace being poured onto them and the start of life with Christ at its heart.
As your child grows, they will need to hear more about Jesus and trust him for themselves. We would be delighted to have you and your family join with us, as we seek to follow Jesus together.
The Baptism will take place at one of our dedicated baptism services at 2.30pm on the third Sunday of the month.
As part of the preparation for the Baptism of your child, we would like you to attend 3-4 Sunday church services prior to the Baptism service as well as attending two baptism preparation sessions at St John’s.
Please see the F.A.Q. section below for more information.
Once the above sessions have been completed the Vicar will then arrange a date with you for the service.
We would greatly appreciate it if you would not book your parties venue until you have received this baptism date.
Any godparents you choose for this service need to have been baptised themselves and are generally two of the same gender and one of the opposite gender as the child.
Thanksgiving Service
This service is a way of celebrating your child’s life and seeking God’s blessing for them. Perhaps most notably, it does not involve water! Thanksgiving can take place in a Sunday service, or at another time by arrangement.
If you choose this option you would meet with the vicar or a church representative to talk through the meaning and content of the service and there arrange a date and time for it.
Next steps
We are delighted that you are considering St John’s Church for your child’s Baptism/Thanksgiving service and hope that we have clearly outlined the steps we believe are necessary for this and in helping you to choose the way forward for your family, and your child’s walk with Christ throughout their lives.
However, if you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to call our Associate Vicar, Simon Walker on 01946 63797 or email simon@stjohnshensingham.org.uk.
F.A.Q.
What will happen during the baptism preparation sessions?
This is a time to talk about the meaning of baptism and answer any questions you may have about the service itself.
In ‘Session A’ we will look at how God has chosen to make himself known to us and how we as humans have rejected his hand of friendship because of our sin and selfishness. We will also look at the words of the baptism service and the promises you will be making on behalf of your child.
In ‘Session B’ we will look at God’s rescue plan to re-establish and reconcile that broken friendship through Christ.
If you would like to view some sample sessions, you can watch this brief trailer for the material we use:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8HFzM3Wz-4&t=27s
You will need to book places for both of these sessions. There is a booking form at the bottom of this page.
Who should attend a baptism preparation session?
The parent(s), who will be involved in the service by making promises for the child. Godparents are welcome to attend and indeed encouraged to do so.
What will happen in a baptism or thanksgiving service?
The words of the Thanksgiving can be found here.
The words of the Baptism service can be found here.
What happens if I live outside the parish of St John’s?
We will refer you to your parish church, to either ask permission to have the baptism at St John’s or for them to explore baptism or thanksgiving with you.
Your Parish Church can be found at the link below.
https://www.achurchnearyou.com
A specific date is important to me. Can’t you book me in before I do the preparation and attend the requisite number of Sundays?
While we understand the importance of having a date, we want to stress that we cannot confirm the Baptism date until you have completed the Baptism preparation course and attended church.
As you will have gathered, Baptism is important to the Christian Faith, and we have a responsibility, as we seek to be obedient to Christ to clearly and prayerfully prepare you for this important step in your child’s life. For this reason, we would kindly request that you begin this process in plenty of time.
St John’s Hensingham Parochial Church Council
5th July 2023
Booking form
Parent 1
Parent 2
Contact email address
Contact telephone number
Child's name
Child's date of birth
Session A date
Session B date
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