Baptism
One of the great joys in life is the arrival of a new baby, either through birth or adoption. Most of us then want to gather our family and friends around to welcome the new baby. We all want to do the very best for our new baby and we want them to know that they are loved and belong.
Baptism is for many a great way to capture all of these feelings and desires. The Church has a passion to help people, especially little children, know they are loved by God. Baptism gives a depth to belonging that goes way beyond the immediate family to the whole people of God. As a celebration, baptism immerses us in the feasting of saints going back for millennia and looking forward to the great banquet of all God’s people.
Here in the Church of the Resurrection in the Anglican Parish of Aspley-Albany Creek we like to have three ‘workshops’ with people bringing their little ones for baptism. These workshops are designed to help us get to know the family and for the family to get to know some members of the local Church. We explore together the belief that God loves your little ones so much more than you can imagine. Ironically, even baptism won’t make God love them more. We understand baptism to bring us into the whole people of God and not merely the Anglican Church. We also reflect on the call to repentance which is central to Christian Baptism. What does it mean to say yes to Jesus and no to evil?
We prefer to have baptism in the context of our normal worship so that the whole congregation can welcome the new member. We encourage the family to join the congregation for a festive morning tea after the baptism.
We also encourage people to come along and participate in the life of the Church, its worship and fellowship before the baptism and we trust they will want to continue after the baptism.
Adult Baptism
Originally as people came to believe in the Good News of Jesus Christ they were baptised. Hence the vast majority of people baptised in the first few centuries of the Church were adults. Once again people are coming to faith in Jesus in adulthood. Their parents were not Christians and so they were never baptised as children or perhaps their parents made a decision to let them make up their own mind later in life.
It is a great joy to encourage new Christians to be baptised. Before baptism they are encouraged to participate in an introduction to the Christian faith. We also seek mentors for them to help prepare them for the great day of their baptism and beyond. New Christians are encouraged to ask questions, explore the faith and reflect on their experiences.
Adult baptism is almost always done during the Sunday worship so that the whole congregation can receive and welcome the new member of the Church.
Naming Ceremony
Some people come with many of the same feelings and desires of those bring children for baptism but feel they are not ready to make the promises included in the baptism service. A lovely alternative is to celebrate the life of the child with a Naming Ceremony (Thanksgiving for a Child).
In this simple service we give thanks to God for the life of the child and ask God’s continued blessing on the whole family. The family have an opportunity to express something of their awe and wonder at the birth of the child. They also gather family and friends together for a celebration to welcome the new member.
