Contact - Sheila Astbury Tel: 01743 364650

Baptism marks the beginning of a journey with God which continues for the rest of our lives, the first step in response to God's love.

If you live in the parish or have strong connections with the church you or your child can be baptised at Christ Church. There is no minimum or maximum age for baptism.

Baptisms usually take place on the first Sunday of the month either during the 10.30am Service or afterwards at 12.00noon or 1.00pm. Other times by negotiation.

At 10.30am the baptism is part of the main act of worship when other members of the congregation are present. It is a full service with readings and hymns and lasts about an hour. As the regular congregation is present you or your child will be welcomed into the church family and presented with the Certificate of Baptism.

The later service is a Baptism Service and only families and friends attend. There are no hymns. The service lasts about thirty minutes and usually there is more than one baptism. At this service you will be invited to join the regular congregation on the first Sunday of the month where the newly baptized will be welcomed in to the church and presented with their Baptism Certificate.

The date and time of the service will be arranged when you contact the Baptism Co-ordinator

Godparents: For children there is a tradition that for a girl you have two women and a man and for a boy two men and a woman but this is not a rule. It is more important to choose Godparents who will take this role seriously and be sympathetic to the Christian faith. You can have as many Godparents as you wish but we would recommend at least two.

Also Godparents must be baptised themselves.

Sponsors: For older children and adults there is a period of preparation. The preparation will be six weekly meetings where we will explore together what it means to be baptized. During that time the candidates for baptism will choose a sponsor to support them and pray for them during the time of preparation and continue to do so after baptism.

There is no charge for baptisms. However, at the service there will be a collection plate at the door and you may like to make a donation towards the upkeep of our Church and its ministry to the parish.

If you are interested in finding out more about Baptism at Christ Church please contact the Baptism Co-ordinator:

Miss Sheila Astbury, 3 Mossbank Way, Copthorne, Shrewsbury, SY3 5AG. Telephone: 01743 364650.
e-mail: sheila-astbury@freezone.co.uk