Skip to content

Baptisms

We welcome baptisms at our first Sunday of the month family service for regular worshippers or on the second Sunday of the month for residents of the parish who do not regularly attend our services.

Dove

1st

Sunday

10:30am
Family Service – Baptisms for families who worship with us regularly

Dove

2nd

Sunday

12:15pm – members of the parish who do not regularly attend our services

PLEASE call or email the parish office to arrange a baptism

0118 969 3298
office@sonningparish.org.uk

hiring the ark

Our Ark Hall is available for hire after a baptism for refreshments for family and friends. We have a resident caterer who will provide whatever refreshments you wish and the hall is within the church grounds, making it convenient for the congregation to access after the service.

What you can expect at a baptism

Below is an excerpt from the Church of England
website outlining the service.


Dove

What happens during the service?

Your child’s Baptism will normally take place during the main Sunday service (usually in the morning). This is so that your child can be seen to be joining the family of the Church and be welcomed into membership. In turn the Church will promise to support and pray for you and your child.

The vicar will make sure you know where to sit and when you need to move. Some parts of the service will be for everyone to join in with, some will be for you and the godparents.

Part of the service will normally take place at the front of the church, but for the Baptism itself, parents and godparents, sometimes family and friends too, will usually be asked by the vicar to gather around the font. (The font is a large basin on a pedestal, containing the water for baptism.)

The vicar will ask the parents and godparents to make declarations on behalf of the child.


Dove

Making Decisions and Promises

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 instead to turn towards Christ.

The declarations made by you and the child’s godparents will be made in front of the church congregation; the local Christian community will promise to support you and pray for you and your child.


Dove

Symbols and Actions Used During the Service

A number of important symbols and actions will be used during the service itself:

The sign of the cross

The vicar will make the sign of the cross on your child’s forehead. This is like an invisible badge to show that Christians are united with Christ and must not be ashamed to stand up for their faith in him.

The vicar says:

“Christ claims you for his own.”

“Receive the sign of his cross.”

“Do not be ashamed to confess the faith of Christ crucified.”

The vicar may also invite you and the godparents to sign the cross on your child’s forehead after he or she has done so.

Water

The vicar will pour water on your child’s head. Water is a sign of washing and cleansing. In baptism, it is a sign of being washed free from sin and beginning a new life with God.

Water is a sign of life, but also a symbol of death. When we are baptized, it is as though our old life is buried in the waters (like drowning) and we are raised to new life with Christ.

Anointing

After baptism in water, the minister may put the christening robe on the child and anoint him or her with oil. This is a sign of the outpouring of God’s Holy Spirit.

The priest says:

“May God, who has received you by baptism into his Church,
pour upon you the riches of his grace,
that within the company of Christ’s pilgrim people
you may daily be renewed by his anointing Spirit,
and come to the inheritance of the saints in glory.”

The welcome

The church congregation will say some formal words of welcome to acknowledge that you child has joined the Church and to show how pleased they are to have you among them.

Candles

Jesus is the Light of the World. A large candle may be lit in the church and you may also be given a lighted candle at the end of the service as a reminder of the light which has come into your child’s life.

PLEASE call or email the parish office to arrange a baptism

0118 969 3298
office@sonningparish.org.uk