What is Baptism?

Baptism is a public declaration of a decision to trust and accept Jesus Christ as our personal Saviour. It’s the start of a wonderfully exciting lifelong adventure with God. A Saviour is someone who ‘saves’ us from something and the Bible tells us that Jesus came from Heaven to Earth to save us from our sins, and to make us ‘righteous’ (in right standing) before Almighty God.^2Cor.5:21

We welcome everyone who would like to put their faith in Jesus Christ and step into the adventure of knowing God and living their lives with Him.

Who is it for?

Baptism can take place at anytime in our lives; as children, teenagers or as adults. As a Benefice we have had the wonderful privilege of being able to perform open water Baptisms for adults and teenagers by immersion on many occasions in our local lake, Semerwater.

When parents desire their children to be baptised they make promises on their behalf to introduce them to the local church family through regular attendance to help them discover the joy of knowing who Jesus is and to do all they can to raise them within the Christian faith. An infant Baptism (often called a Christening) is to be seen as the start of an exciting journey in discovering God and as a church family we now have many different ways of helping parents to do this on a regular basis and it is a joy to welcome new families into the Church here.

When and How?

Baptisms can take place in any of our four church buildings (or at Semerwater) and can take place within our usual Sunday services or as a separate event. Whatever your decision, we encourage parents to attend some of our family events before the actual service takes place in order that you can get to know us and feel at home amongst us.

What might we do next?

Contact the Vicarage and we will be delighted to arrange a meeting to discuss what is involved and to help you move this decision forward.

More information can be found on the Church of England website at: http://www.churchofengland.org/life-events/christenings