The birth of a new baby is a time of joy and celebration! Many parents feel a great desire to give thanks for the gift of a child. The Church of England has two services available for parents at this time. Both happen within our Sunday morning gathering at 10am.

Thanksgiving

A thanksgiving is an opportunity to give thanks to God for your child.

In the service we invite you and your supporting friends or family to make a commitment to the loving nurture of the child. You will bring your child to the front of the church where the minister and congregation will pray for you all, and the child’s name is included in the blessing.

This is the ideal choice if the arrival of a child has prompted fresh questions about faith. A thanksgiving comes with ‘no strings attached’ – there’s no cost, and no ongoing expectation of you to attend church regularly – we simply want to help you to express your thanks to God.

You can see a sample order of service here. Please contact the church office and we’ll be in touch to agree a mutually convenient date.

Baptism

Baptism is where a child or adult is welcomed into the church family. Baptism is always a joyful occasion – it symbolises new life, cleansing, and rescue from judgement which are received by faith in Jesus Christ.

We encourage practising Christian parents to bring their children from baptism (sometimes called ‘christening’). At this time parents and godparents make important promises before God, which include a commitment to regular prayer and church-going as an example to their child, and declarations that they are themselves committed followers of Jesus Christ. As the child grows up it is important that they come to ‘own’ the Christian faith for themselves with the help of their parents, godparents and the local church.

Please speak to Glyn or Peter after one of our Sunday services – they’d be delighted to meet with you to help you prepare for baptism. Please note that no date for a baptism can be set without regular church attendance for 3 months first. It is also expected that parents and godparents are baptised and confirmed church members themselves.

First Steps

Parents with pre-school children love our ‘First Steps’ parent/carer and child group. Come and join us, Thursdays 9:30-11am during school term-time. More details here.