St Michael's Church (Church of England)

Welcome to

ST MICHAEL & All ANGELS CHURCH

(Church of England)

St Michael's Green, Warwick Road, Beaconsfield, Bucks HP9 2BN

BAPTISM

When you are thinking of having your child Baptised or if an adult is thinking of Baptism, you should contact our Vicar, Camilla Walton, to discuss the baptism and arrange a suitable date.

Parents will need to meet with the Vicar for Baptism preparation prior to the service and may like to think of a hymn to be sung and perhaps to write a prayer to help personalise the occasion.

Families are welcome to become involved with the service, children can participate by bringing up the candle, jug with water and the Baptism shell. Adults are also welcome to read their chosen extracts from the Bible.

There are usually plenty of opportunities for photos after the service when the families are invited to stay for refreshments so they can meet the church family.

A Baptism Application Form is available to download (see box on the left). Please complete the form and send it to the Vicarage, address above, or hand to the Vicar. PLEASE NOTE: When filling out the Baptism Application Form, the chosen date will not be confirmed until after the Vicar has seen the parents or the adult who would like to be baptised.

With baptism preparation the Vicar is helped by colleagues who will come and visit the couple to ensure they fully understand and are happy with what is going to take place.

Please will the Godparents either be present when the Vicar or her colleagues visit, or if this is not practical, make sure they download the service, read it and then contact Reverend Camilla Walton through email to ask any questions they may have about the Baptism.

1. The different baptism Services in the Church of England
In the Church of England there are two basic types of baptism service. There are baptism services that follow the orders of service in The Book of Common Prayer of 1662 and there are those that follow the orders of service in Common Worship that were authorised for use from 1998. The orders of service for baptism in Common Worship use more contemporary language and are the ones that are most commonly used today.

The reason that there are a number of different orders of service in both The Book of Common Prayer and Common Worship is that the form that the service will take will vary according to the context in which it is taking place. For example the form of the service will vary depending on whether adults or infants are being baptised, whether the service is taking place as part of a more informal family service or as part of the Eucharist, and whether baptism is going to be followed immediately by confirmation.

2. The content of the baptism services
In spite of the differences just mentioned there are a number of core elements that can be seen in the orders of service in both The Book of Common Prayer and Common Worship, elements that are central to Christian baptism and that can be found in services of baptism from very early times.
These core elements are:

· An explanation of the meaning of baptism.

· The expression of a desire to be baptised, made either by the candidates or by the parents and/or Godparents on their behalf.

· The renunciation of the devil and all that is evil and a declaration of turning to Christ, made either by the candidates for baptism or, in the case of infants, by someone speaking on their behalf. In The Book of Common Prayer it is the Godparents who do this and in Common Worship it is the parents and Godparents.

· The making of the sign of the cross on the candidates for baptism to signify that henceforth they belong to Christ and must be prepared to live as His followers.

· A prayer asking God to use the water of baptism to cleanse the candidates from sin and give them new life as part of His people.

· A declaration of Christian faith based on the ancient statement of Christian belief called the 'Apostles' Creed', made either by the candidates or by the parents and/or Godparents.

· Baptism with water in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit

· A prayer that those baptised may grow in holiness and may come eventually to share in the life of God's eternal kingdom.

· A declaration of what it means to live as a baptised follower of Jesus Christ or, in the case of infants, a declaration of the responsibility of parents and Godparents to bring them up to follow Christ.

In the case of the Common Worship services there is the option for three additional elements, which are also practices that go back to the early days of the Church.

· The first is the anointing with oil of those who are being baptised. As in the days of the early Church this represents the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

· The second is the clothing of those who have been baptised with a white robe. This symbolises the fact that through Christ they have been given a new nature and are now clean in God's sight (Colossians 3:10 Revelation 7:9).

· The third is the presentation of a lighted candle to those who have been baptised. This symbolises the fact that Christ said that those who follow Him should glorify their heavenly Father by shining like lights amidst the darkness of the world (Matthew 5:14-16).

A further difference between Common Worship and The Book of Common Prayer is that when those who are older are baptised Common Worship makes provision for those who wish to do so to give their testimony, that is to say, an explanation of why they have decided to follow Christ and be baptised.

A final difference in the Common Worship service is greater congregational participation. In The Book of Common Prayer the congregation's participation is limited to saying 'Amen' at the end of prayers. In Common Worship the congregation promises to uphold those who are being baptised in their new life in Christ, joins in the declaration of Christian faith, and welcomes those who have been baptised as new members of the Church.

Click to go to second page of Baptism notes

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