Baptisms

Congratulations!

If you have a new baby in your household, many congratulations. This will be a very busy, exciting and tiring time for you! However, it is also a time when many parents want to give thanks to God for the arrival of their child and to mark that occasion in a special way for family and friends. All Saints Lindfield offers two ways of doing this:

• A Baptism Service - for practising Christians, where parents & godparents make vows on behalf of their children, which include promising to bring them up in the Christian faith.
• A Thanksgiving Service -  a simple, straightforward opportunity to thank God for the gift of your child which does not include the promises of baptism but is still a recognized service of the church.

More details of these two options are given below but your first step would normally be to telephone the church office (01444 482405). One of the members of staff there will talk to you about eligibility and take your and your child's details. You will then receive a letter from the clergy and a booklet explaining the baptism procedure at All Saints for you to look at in your own time to decide if baptism is the right way forward for you as a family.
We have a number of requests for baptisms & thanksgivings at All Saints, so there is quite a long waiting list. Please do not commit yourself to a specific date until after you have spoken to our baptism co-ordinator, which will be a week or so after you have spoken to the church office - this avoids any disappointment at a later stage.

Baptism Service

Your child's baptism will take place during the main Sunday service (9.30am service) on the third Sunday of the month. This is so that your child can be welcomed into the family of the Church here at All Saints’. In turn the Church will promise to support and pray for you and your child.
At a  Baptism Service parents & godparents stand before God and the local congregation to declare their own faith in Christ. They make vows on behalf of the child, which include promising to bring him or her up in the Christian faith. These are serious and solemn promises and consequently, you should choose your child’s godparents with careful thought & prayer. They should be committed and baptized Christians, as their role is to assist in the nurture and encouragement of your child as he or she grows up in the Christian faith. They are also there to help you as parents to prepare your child, so that in time, they can make the decision to follow Christ for themselves, and come to Confirmation, when they make those vows for themselves.
Because baptism is an important sign of Christian commitment, we ask parents choosing this service to attend a short preparation course. The course gives a short explanation of the Christian faith and the purpose of baptism and is led by a couple from the church. (Incidentally, the laws governing the Church of England - “the Canons”- require us to provide parents with sufficient “instruction” before baptism takes place).

Thanksgiving Service

Thanksgiving services normally take place at a special afternoon service in church on the third Sunday of the month, but do sometimes take place as part of the main 9.30am service. Thanksgiving services are an opportunity to give thanks for the birth of your child and to celebrate your child’s arrival with family & friends. A thanksgiving service is a good option to choose, if you are unclear of your own beliefs and do not feel you can stand with integrity before God in church and make the baptismal vows. A thanksgiving does not include the promises of baptism but is still a church service with an opportunity to thank God for your child. At a thanksgiving you can still ask friends or family to be ‘sponsors’, like godparents, but like you as parents, they will not need to make promises of personal commitment to Jesus Christ. If you choose to have a Thanksgiving, you may also have a Baptism service for your child at a later date.
Although the baptism preparation course (as outlined above) is not an obligation if you choose a Thanksgiving service you are still warmly invited to attend and to think more about the Christian faith.

It is not uncommon for older children (not previously baptised and usually under 5 years of age) to be baptised at the same time as their new baby brother or sister. Indeed, none of the children have to be babies as it might be, for instance, that a family wishes to express their new found faith in this traditional act of Christian witness to family, friends and community. Baptism is an interim stage - awaiting the age where a young man or woman is ready to confirm that public affirmation of faith in Jesus Christ for themselves. Consequently, older children (who have not already been baptised) will often wait until they are ready to make their own declaration of faith in a combined Baptism and Confirmation Service. More in formation about Confirmation can be obtained via the Tiger Church Office on 01444 482405 or email

The birth of a new life is one of the most joyous occasions imaginable. Jesus taught that this joyous new birth can happen twice in our lives - once at our natural birth and once as a spiritual rebirth. If anything, this second birth is even more exciting than the first and, of course, a time of great celebration for the church family. An adult, who has not been baptised as a child, will often want to mark their new birth by an act of adult baptism, possibly at a Baptism and Confirmation Service or even by being baptised by total immersion! Please contact the Tiger Church Office or one of the clergy for more details.
If, on reading this, you would like to know more about what Jesus had to say concerning spiritual rebirth, then please contact one of the clergy at All Saints, or why not consider the Christianity Explored course?