Baptism
Baptism is a public statement of personal Christian faith.
We are very happy to talk about this important decision.
I would rather talk about Baptism than Christening.
Christening is what you do when you name a boat. ☺
Christians form God’s family and they greatly benefit from
mutual encouragement (usually by meeting together).
As the saying goes “it takes a village to raise a child”.
Your local Church is your “Christian Village” experience.
We welcome fellow believers and are happy to baptize
their children. In the Baptism Service, promises are made
about bringing up children in the Christian Faith.
We are here to help you do that. It will mean several meetings and studies to help prepare you but it will be
time well spent and it may even benefit the whole family.
So if you are committed to more than just a
“name-giving” ceremony, we’d love to chat with you.
Arrange a time to talk and see where we go from there.
Our approach has been influenced by this analogy which we found on the website of St Michael's Wollongong:
Wanting baptism for your child, without going to church, is a bit like asking a Surf Club to give you the red and yellow life-saver’s cap, yet saying you won’t bring your kids to Nippers nor serve on any surf patrols yourself.
The red and yellow cap won’t do your kid any good if he hasn’t learned how to swim safely at the beach. And it would be wrong to wear the cap yourself, if you aren’t actually part of Surf Club life and service in any meaningful way.
We can discuss this with you at more length if you desire. We want to help people decide if they’re serious about following Christ as Lord and Saviour. Participating in church life, where we learn from the Bible, is a great way of gaining such clarity. Another option would be to attend a ‘Christianity course’.