Baptism At The Quantock Towers Benefice Churches
Introduction
Baptism marks the beginning of your Christian journey, and is not just a blessing but also a commitment to follow Jesus for the rest of your life. You can be baptised at any age; and it is not just for children but also for everyone who wants to make a public commitment to Jesus.
Who Can Get Baptised?
Anyone who wants to be a disciple of Jesus is welcome to be baptised. However, we believe that it best to get baptised in your local church, or where you have a connection to the church. The ‘connections’ we tend to work to are: anyone who lives within Benefice boundaries or has a family connection to any of the wonderful churches within the benefice, such as Bicknoller, Crowcombe, Sampford Brett, Monksilver, Stogumber or Nettlecombe.
The Preparation for Baptism
The priest will visit you at home in order to get to know you better.
When Will the Baptism Take Place?
Usually the Baptism will take place during a normal Sunday Family Service, so that the child can be welcomed into the Family of God.
Who can be a God Parent or Supporter?
As God Parents or supporters are asked to make promises to help the baptised in their Christian life it is important that they are Christians. People of other faiths are welcome to make a commitment to support the baptism candidate, but are unable to be named as ‘God parents’ for obvious reasons. Again please discuss this with our Priest before making a commitment.
Usually somebody being baptised has three god parents or supporters: which for Girls/Women-usually is one male and two female god parents/supporters; for Boys/Men-usually is one female and two male god parents/supporters.
What if I / we can’t make the promises?
Occasionally after reading the promises baptism candidates and their family are expected to make, some realise they cannot make them. In this situation an alternative to baptism is the service of thanksgiving. This takes places within the Sunday morning services and is where we give thanks to God for the safe arrival of the child. No promises or commitments are made by the parents; and of course the child will not be baptised.