Baptisms

The celebration of a child’s or adult's baptism is one of the great hallmarks of their life. It is also a great event in your family life together.

But there is another and much deeper importance in Baptism.

Baptism is about belonging and makes a person a member of the family of God, the Church. The popular term for Baptism, christening, reminds us of that. Christening means being made Christ’s, being made a Christian.

Because of that, we take baptism very seriously. Just as your child’s baptism is an important event in the life of your family, so it is also an important event in the life of the Church family.

We celebrate baptism during the 10am Parish Mass on Sundays, normally the first Sunday of the month (see below for dates). That is the time when most of the church family can be together to say Welcome to this new Christian and to celebrate this new beginning with you.

Parish Boundaries

Normally a person is baptized in the parish in which they live or where they are already a regular member of the congregation. However sometimes people have special family links with a church and if that is so for you, then having your child baptized at S. John’s is still possible. You will need to receive the written goodwill of the priest of the parish in which you live and that will sometimes mean joining in with their baptism preparation as well.

What about godparents?

Traditionally a child has three godparents: two of the same sex and one of the opposite. In practice, it is quite usual to have two, or sometimes four, godparents.

There are two important pre-requisites for godparents. The first is that they themselves must already be baptised. The second is that they must freely assent to the practice of infant baptism. Some of the Free Churches only practise adult baptism. It isn’t possible for people belonging to these churches to be godparents as we would be asking them to make promises for something they don’t believe in.

What is asked of you?

The first thing is that we ask you to come and join us for at least three Sundays. This enables you to become a little familiar with what happens and to begin gaining a sense of the family that makes up the Church.

To help you if you have other children, there is an area for small children, special colour-in children’s Mass booklets, bags with activities to do whilst sat amongst the congregation and plenty of room to walk around at the back if your baby is having trouble settling. No one minds a crying baby or a questioning child: they belong in the church as much as any adult.

Booking the date - always best to have 2 dates and book in plenty of time, before inviting guests, to avoid disappointment.

After you have been along and "checked us out", speak to Mother Carrie to arrange the date. Mother Carrie or a representative is also available in the church hall on Saturdays between 11am and 12pm. You can also download an application form; fill it in clearly, using capital letters and bring it with you when you visit to book.

Application.PDF

Application.WORD

Baptism Sunday Dates:

Please note that Baptisms are not usually undertaken during Lent

2009:

2010: