Baptisms & Confirmation
Baptisms
To contact us about a baptism please click here. Alternatively, please contact our baptism coordinator, Jane Wernick.
We welcome all who are brought to the church in our parish for baptism as infants, or who seek this sacrament for themselves, as children or adults. Information and application forms are available at church after any service. Baptism is normally administered on the 2nd Sunday of the month at 12:30pm. However, we also encourage baptisms within the main service, on a date by arrangement, where this is pastorally desirable.
It is usual to have three Godparents, two of the same sex as the child and one of the opposite sex, but one of each is sufficient and you may have more if you wish. Please note that we can only enter four names on the register. Parents may be godparents to their own children, as long as there is at least one other godparent. All godparents must be baptised, and at least two should be confirmed. Please choose godparents with care. Give the following letter to each of them, explaining what they are undertaking. (Older candidates may have sponsors, who fulfil a similar role).
Your completed application form should be returned to one of the clergy or baptism team. You will be given a sheet with the time and date of the baptism and the rehearsal. It is important that you attend the rehearsal, and we would hope that one or more of the godparents will also be able to attend this. If you are unable to come, please let us know in advance, otherwise we may presume you no longer wish to have your child baptised on the date booked. If you wish to rearrange or cancel the baptism, please let us know as soon as possible. For your information we have been asked to remind you that having your child baptised does not guarantee them a place at St Matthew’s School.
If you live outside the parish , you should normally ask for baptism at the parish where you live so that your local church will be able to offer you on-going support. If you feel there is a particular reason for having your child baptised here, please discuss this at the time of booking. The goodwill of your own parish priest should usually be sought in this instance.
A final point: there is no fee for a baptism – but if you would like to make an appropriate donation to enable the work of the church to continue please use one of the giving envelopes, filling in your details, so that we can claim Gift Aid on your donation.
Services of Thanksgiving
A Service of Thanksgiving for the birth of a child is available, if you wish to defer baptism until later years, or in addition to baptism (replacing the old Churching service). A similar service of thanksgiving after adoption can also be arranged.
Confirmation
Admission to Communion and Confirmation are the next steps in Christian initiation, and details about these can be obtained from the vicar. Parents who are not themselves confirmed may want to consider this, if so, please ask for more information when arrangements are made.
