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Your Child and the Church
Information about the baptism of children from the Melton Uniting Church.
The birth of a child is a joyful and important time in the life of any family.
At such a time families want to express their happiness and thanks, and often they look for something that will mark this great event, and support them as they begin, or continue, the joyful and challenging journey of parenthood.
This desire sometimes brings people to the church to inquire about a baptism, or what some people refer to as a “christening”. So this leaflet is designed to give you some of the information you may need as you make that kind of inquiry.
We want to help you understand something of what baptism means for the church, and what having a child baptised means for a family. We also want to tell you about the alternative service that is offered by the Uniting Church.
Firstly BAPTISM…..
Christians are people who
- · believe in God
- · believe that nothing is more important in life than knowing God
- · believe that God loves us and has shown that love in Jesus Christ
- · believe that in trusting ourselves to Jesus, we can live in God’s love and receive a new life
- · believe that we are to live out God’s new life with others in God’s family, the church; and share this new life with the people around us
- · believe that life and all its gifts are gifts of God.
So BAPTISM is all about these things.
It is * a sign of God’s love
* a sign of belonging to God’s family the church
* a sign of our commitment to God
BAPTISM IS ALL ABOUT FOLLOWING JESUS, EXPRESSING THE CHRISTIAN FAITH AND BEING PART OF GOD’S FAMILY, THE CHURCH.
So what does baptism mean for parents who request it for their children?
In the baptism service parents are invited to make a public statement of their own faith in God, and to commit themselves to bringing up their children in the Christian faith and the Christian church.
Parents are asked to make these commitments because as parents share their own faith with their child, and keep their child within the life of the church, their child will be able to grow up knowing what a great gift was given to them when they were baptised.
For parents this means a willingness to explore their own faith and their own relationship to the church, and to ask the question “Are we ready as a family to take this step and undertake the commitments which are part of having our child baptised?”
Baptism only becomes a living thing for children as they share in the life of the church. If parents are unable, at this point in their lives, to commit themselves to that, they actually do better by their children by NOT having them baptised. Then if their children become Christians when they are older, they will be able to make their own decision to be baptised. This will be much more meaningful for them.
Please note: In our church children do not have to be baptised to attend Sunday School or any other activity of our church, and people do not have to be baptised to be married in our church.
If you do not belong to a church, or are not attending regularly at this time in your life, the best place to begin exploring baptism for your child is at worship with the Christian family on Sunday mornings (shift work allowing). You will receive a warm welcome.
Secondly, A SERVICE OF THANKSGIVING FOR THE GIFT OF A CHILD….
In this service we share with a family in the joy and gratitude they feel for the gift of their child; we pray for them and offer them an opportunity to publicly commit themselves to the care of this new life.
This service does not have the vows that the baptism service has, and many families who do not have a strong connection to the church, find that this service helps them to express before God, some of the things they feel about the birth of their child. This thanksgiving service, like the baptism service is conducted as part of our normal Sunday morning worship.
It is important to be clear that this is not a “second rate” service. It is a different kind of service. It does not exclude baptism at a later date, and for some families it may be the beginning of a relationship with the church that leads to a baptism further down the track.
There is obviously a lot more to say and I am very happy to talk more about these things with you. Please give me a ring if you would like to do that. Many families have found that working through the issue of what is appropriate for them as been an important step in their spiritual life.
We trust that this might be so for you and your family. We will have you in our prayers.
God bless you
Rev Lynden Broadstock (97435696 or 0403983381)
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