Baptism & Confirmation

Baptism

Baptism is a time for celebration and is one of the first steps a person makes in response to God’s love. It’s a way of saying ‘yes’ I’m willing to trust Jesus and grow more like him every day.

It’s about making a serious and public declaration of faith and in response the local church welcomes the person being baptised, promising to support and pray for them in the future.

If you would like to be baptised or would like one of your children to be baptised at either St Lawrence or St Paul normally you will need to live within our parish or be a member of our church.

You can check if you are in our parish using A Church Near You search feature.

If you are interested in baptism please come to one of our services and have a chat with the vicar afterwards.

At St Lawrence with St Paul three types of service are on offer:

Children’s Baptism – sometimes called a Christening

In the baptism of a child the parents and godparents make promises on behalf of the child praying for the child to step into the reality of these promises as they grow and mature.

Thanksgiving for the gift of a child

Some parents might want to celebrate the gift of a child in a different way without the commitment that baptism involves.  During the Thanksgiving Service parents and families give thanks for the birth or adoption of a child and everyone prays for family life.

The parents may wish to choose ‘Sponsors’ who promise to support the parents in bringing up their child.

Adult Baptism

In an Adult Baptism the person makes the baptismal promises for themselves. It is an extremely joyful occasion in church as a person commits to living a new life in Christ, empowered by the Holy Spirit.

Confirmation

Confirmation is a special church service in which a person confirms the promises that were made when they were baptised.

If you were baptised at a christening when you were a child, your parents and godparents made these promises on your behalf. As a young person or adult, you may be ready to affirm these promises for yourself and commit your life to following Jesus Christ. At a confirmation service, you make these promises for yourself and a bishop will affirm your decision by praying for God’s Holy Spirit to give you the strength and commitment to live God’s way for the rest of your life.

As a general rule, anyone who is over 10 years old and can answer the promises for themselves could be ready for confirmation, but the right time for you might be at any age – you could be in your teens or in your nineties!

Confirmation is an important choice and for this reason here at St Lawrence and St Paul we want to prepare you well by offering the appropriate amount of guidance, support and prayer.

If you are interested in being confirmed please come to one of our services and have a chat with the vicar afterwards.