John 3: Jesus answered, Truly, truly, I say to you, except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

There is no charge for a baptism service, although a donation is appreciated. If a formal Certificate of Baptism is required, there is a charge of £16.

Your child is precious to you and precious to God. At Baptism you make a decision to start your child on a journey of faith. The church and the godparents support the family and the child in this decision. This Parish believes that at baptism a child becomes a member of the family of God and, in recognition of that membership, joins the local worshipping community here. For this reason baptisms normally take place at the church’s main service of worship at 10.30am, unless there are strong pastoral reasons for them to take place on another occasion.

Child and infant baptisms - Initial contact is generally made via the Rector who arranges to meet with the parents at a convenient date. Parents who live in the parish are always welcome to have their children baptised, but we do not normally undertake baptisms where parents live outside the parish unless they are regular worshippers at our Churches or there is a strong historical or family connection to the Parish.

Parents are required to undertake preparation before the baptism of their children. This will usually involve at least two meetings at which the content of the Baptism Service will be discussed and parents will be encouraged to take seriously the vows they make on behalf of the child. These vows include an undertaking to join the local Church community. As many parents are reluctant to claim a fully committed Christian faith, all enquirers are normally offered the alternative of a Thanksgiving Ceremony, which requires neither preparation nor a defined level of Christian commitment.

Thanksgiving Ceremony - This service allows the birth of the child to be celebrated with God’s blessing being sought for both parents and child as the family seek to grow together in faith and love.  The child is free to be baptised at a later date either when he/she is old enough to make a faith commitment for him/herself, or when the parents acknowledge a more clearly defined faith for themselves.

Procedure for adult baptisms - Candidates for adult baptism are expected to have an understanding of the Christian faith and a genuine desire to be fully committed followers of Christ. They will normally attend a Christian Basics course before being baptised and will be confirmed at the next available service of confirmation.

If you would like to discuss a baptism, thanksgiving ceremony, or confirmation, please contact the Rector using the details on the contact page on this website.