Baptisms

When you are baptised (christened), you are saying, very simply, that you believe and accept Jesus as your Lord and your God and that you publicly want to be known as a follower of Jesus. When you do this, God pours his Holy Spirit upon you and publicly claims you as a child of God.

St John’s is the perfect place for baptism. It has a very beautiful baptistery in the west end of the church. Here, there is both a traditional font and a newly refurbished immersion font. This means you have choice as to how you are baptized. Services generally take place either during the Sunday Mass or on Sundays at 12pm.

What does it mean to be a follower of Jesus?
Jesus is alive and real and wants to be in your life. As a follower, you are inviting him into your life. You get to know him by speaking to him and listening for him and to him. You begin to share your joys and your concerns with him and you permit him to walk with you along life’s journey. As you do this, you begin to discover the best companion you could hope for.

Being a follower of Jesus means worshipping him. The best place to do this is in church. Church may seem a bit weird at first and you will hear the whispering which will try to convince you that you could be doing 101 better things with your time! Stay! Get beyond the initial pain barrier and you will soon discover a whole new world.

Learn about Jesus! A good place to start is the Gospel of Matthew chapters 5-7. You may want to go on to read one of the 4 gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John) in their entirety. (A tip: Mark’s is the shortest!)

Talk to other Christians you meet in church and ask them about their faith.

If you are bringing your child for baptism, please think about joining the Creche or Sunday School, where others can help you nurture your child in the faith.

Baptism Enquiries:
If you are interested in baptism for yourself or for your child, we ask that you first speak to the Vicar after the Sunday Mass (which starts at 10am). This gives you a chance to experience the kind of worship that is offered to God at St John’s. The Vicar will then arrange a meeting with you to discuss this further. You will be required to have some baptism preparation – this is informal and informative and generally takes place with other people going forward for baptism. At your first meeting you will be able to discuss dates for baptism.

Parents/Guardians: If you are enquiring on behalf of your child and you are not baptized yourself, this is a good time to think about it for you. Pray about it – ask God if he wants this for you and listen. Ask yourself the question why do you want this for your child, but you don’t want it for yourself!

Godparents: When you ask someone to become a godparent, you are asking them to have some Christian input into the life of your child. Therefore godparents need to be baptized themselves and show a willingness to take on this responsibility for their godchild. Godparents should be willing to read Bible stories to their godchild, to pray for them and with them - teaching them to pray. Being a godparent is a journey of discovery as you engage with your godchild’s spiritual well-being and so engage with your own!

How many godparents can I have for my child?

Traditionally: Boys - 2 godfathers and 1 godmother, Girls - 2 godmothers and 1 godfather.

However, there’s no hard or fast rule! If you want anything different, the best thing to do is to speak to the Vicar!

What does it Cost?
We ask for a donation of £20 towards church expenses. If you are a tax-payer, please would you gift aid this, so that St John’s can reclaim the tax

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St John the Evangelist, Auckland Road, Upper Norwood, LONDON, SE19 2RX. 020 8653 0378

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