| Baptisms are a wonderful opportunity for celebrating lives given by God. Each year we baptise over fifty children and adults in our three churches. Although the majority are of children under two, we also baptise a number of adults. If you would like to enquire more about baptism, do contact our three churches or follow the links from the home page to the individual church. |
Children and Babies
Baptism marks the start of a journey of faith, which involves becoming a member of the local and worldwide Christian family. As a parent of a child being baptised, you are thanking God for the gift of your child’s life and making a decision to start him or her on the journey of faith with the support of the Church. We hope that the following questions and answers will help you make a decision about baptism.
What's the difference between a baptism and christening? Nothing! They are simply two words for the same event.
If I live in Beaconsfield, can I get my child baptised in one of the Beaconsfield Church of England churches? Probably. All three churches serve the whole of our town, so why not look at each one to decide which suits you best?
Do I have to be baptised myself? No, there is no requirement for parents to be baptised. However, you should have godparents who have been baptised themselves. The tradition is to have two godparents of the same sex as the child and one of the opposite sex.
Do I have to come to church to have my child baptised? You don’t have to come every week, but since in baptism your child will be joining the church family and you are promising to bring your child up in the faith of God, you will find the support of the wider Christian community can be very helpful on that journey. The families section of the website has more information.
Can my child be baptised privately, or does it have to be in a main service with the normal congregation present? A child is baptised in the family of the church so it is good, whenever possible, to have the rest of the church there to welcome them into God’s family. However, each of our churches baptises at different times, so do contact us to find out more.
Will the baptism take place on its own, or will there be other families having their children baptised too? Because of the number of requests for baptism that we have, often there are two or three families having children baptised at once. The increased numbers of people only adds to the sense of celebration of being part of a wider Christian family!
Adults
Increasingly nowadays, people reach adulthood not having been baptised as a child. Many people wish that they had been, and others find that as they join increasingly in the life of a local church, they wish that they were.
It is always a great delight to baptise adults during the year. If someone requests a baptism, they normally take part in a Christian basics course. They may well also be confirmed by the bishop at the same time or a few weeks later.