Baptism Information
In baptism, you as parents are: thanking God for his gift of life, deciding to start your child on the journey of faith and asking for the Church's support.
For your child, baptism: marks the start of a journey of faith, which involves turning away from the darkness of self-centredness, turning towards Christ and becoming a member of the local and worldwide Christian family.
Baptism is a 'sacrament': a visible sign of God's love. In baptism, we are thanking God for his gift of life and publicly acknowledging his love. We are acknowledging that we all need to turn away from the darkness of evil and to make a new start with God.
When you bring your child for baptism, you will be asked to declare publicly on behalf of your child that you believe in God and that you will bring your child up to follow Jesus.
You will be asked to answer on your child's behalf, that you have decided to turn away from everything which is evil or sinful and to turn instead towards Christ.
The declarations made by you and the child's godparents will be made in front of the church congregation. the Christian community will promise to support you and pray for you and your child.
A BAPTISM AT ST BRELADE
Baptisms usually take place on Sunday afternoons on the hour from 1.00pm - 4.00pm and will last about half an hour. Your first contact should be by telephone to the Rectory on 01534 742302, where confirmation of dates and times will be available. A form will then be sent to you to complete and return giving details of Godparents etc.. We can also arrange a Baptism within our Sunday Morning worship if you prefer, but we find this best suits those who are regular attenders at Church. Our monthly 'Little Acorns' service (on the 4th Sunday of the month at 11.00am) is the most suitable service for this.
PLEASE NOTE: It is important to remember that for someone to be a Godparent, they must have been baptised themselves. The promises they make on behalf of your child are the same they would make for themselves if they were being baptised. It would seem a nonsense to be prepared to say these promises and yet not be baptised. If you are in this dilemma with someone you want to be a Godparent, then please discuss this with us.
How many Godparents should we have?
Traditionally, the choice has been two men and one woman for a boy, or two women and one man for a girl. However, some people like to have one or two couples for their children. There are no hard and fast rules, the most important thing is that those you ask understand this is a responsibility which goes beyond the baptism service. You are looking for people who will be there for your child and who are prepared to build a relationship with them for at least the next 20 years.
Will our child be baptised with others?
It is our policy at St Brelade to provide baptism services for each family individually. We do not do baptisms with groups of families unless you ask to share you service with other family members or close friends.