Baptisms
What is Baptism?
Christians describe baptism as a sacrament — a visible sign of God’s love. As such, a Service of Baptism is a wonderfully happy occasion to thank God for the gift of your son or daughter’s life, and to celebrate both your love and the love that God has for your son or daughter.
For your Child baptism involves:
- Starting a journey of faith,
- Becoming a member of the local and worldwide family of God — the church.
For you as parents, and for Godparents:
- Thanking God for his gift of life,
- Deciding to start your child on the journey of faith and to help them to become a member of the church,
- Expressing your belief in God and committing yourself to pray for and support your child or Godchild.
For the church:
- Promising to welcome, support and pray for you and your child in a non-intrusive way.
What’s the difference between Baptism and Christening?
In practice none. They are simply different names for the same service.
Can I have my son or daughter baptised at St Andrew’s?
For parents who live within the Parish boundary:
Anyone living within the parish boundary of Frimley Green and Mytchett has a right to baptism at St Andrew’s.
For parents who live outside the Parish boundary:
Because baptism marks the beginning of Christian life and faith and children are baptised on the understanding that they shall be brought up as Christians within the family of the church, children should be baptised in the parish where you live so that you can as a family worship and have regular contact with your local church.
However, we try to be flexible, and are willing to make some exceptions to this rule. For example, we are willing to baptise the children of those married at St Andrew’s or have a particular link with the church providing that the Vicar or Rector of the Parish in which you live is happy for us do so.
When do baptisms take place?
As a general rule we hold a Service of Baptism on the First and Third Sunday’s of each month at 2.00pm in the afternoon.
Depending on the time of year there may be up to three families present at each baptism and we therefore kindly ask you to limit the number of your guests to no more than 40 people. We know this can be difficult for some families but unfortunatley only have a small church!
What is the procedure for booking a baptism?
If you would like to pursue the possibility of booking a baptism at St Andrew’s please contact the Vicar directly.
You will then be invited to attend a Baptism Preparation Meeting which normally take place in the Church Hall on the First Saturday of the Month, beginning at 10.00am and lasting for approximately an hour. At this preparation group we show a short video to explore the meaning of baptism, highlight the symbols of the service, explain the guidelines regarding the choosing of Godparents and answer any questions you may have.
At the end of the preparation group the dates for baptism are booked and baptism application forms given to you to take away and complete.
In the week to fortnight before the baptism a member of the Church Baptism Team will contact you to arrange a convenient time to visit you to collect the application form, run through the Order of Service and to answer any outstanding questions you may have.
Finally, on the day we will do our very best to make the baptism of your son or daughter a wonderful and memorable occasion which we hope will mark the beginning of a long and happy association with our church.
Cost!
The good news is that there is no charge for a service of baptism. God’s love is a free gift to all. We do however place a collection plate at the back of church on the day of the baptism and are very grateful for any donations that help us to keep St Andrew’s open for the future.
Contact
Please contact Revd Scott Edwards directly at the Vicarage on 01252 835179.