Ministry & Mission - Baptisms & Confirmation

The Sacrament of Baptism (also known as christening)

Jessica & Serayah

We are delighted you are thinking of baptism for your child. Your child is precious to you and precious to God. At baptism you promise to raise your child to know God loves them, and to help them to follow Jesus as a member of the Church.

What is baptism? In baptism, you as parents are:

	thanking God for his gift of life
	making a decision to start your child on the journey of faith
	and asking for the Church's support

Baptism is freely offered to parents who are resident in the Parish, or when non-resident, where parents can demonstrate good pastoral reasons for seeking baptism at St Matthew's. Such a request will also require the written permission of your parish priest.

Parents who are resident in St Matthew's Parish and wanting - for similarly good reason - to have their child baptized in a Church of England church elsewhere should also attend this meeting.

For your child, baptism marks the start of a journey of faith, which involves turning away from all that is evil, turning towards Christ and becoming a member of the local and worldwide Christian family.

In baptism, we thank God for his gift of life and publicly acknowledge his love. In the Church of England it is common to baptize young children; this is sometimes known as christening. Baptism is a 'sacrament', an outward and visible sign of something inward and unseen, that is traced back to Jesus himself being baptized in the river Jordan.

To enquire about Baptisms or Confirmations, please contact either Denise Bailey or Chris Ludford-Thomas in the first instance, or contact the Parish Office.

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