Thanksgiving & Baptism

Many parents want to celebrate the arrival of a child into the family with some form of a service in church where they can thank God for their child, together with family and friends. Holy Trinity is pleased to help families do this. The Church of England offers two main services to celebrate the birth or arrival of a child. They are Thanksgiving and Baptism.

Thanksgiving

This is a lovely service in which as the name suggests, we say 'thank you' to God for the life of the child, for safe delivery and for the privilege of parenthood. Prayers are said, the child is named and blessed and the family is given a certificate and one of the books from the Bible. This service is a wonderful opportunity to come to church and together we ask God for his support, blessing and help.

Baptism

Baptism is a service for those who want to bring their child up as a Christian within the supportive family of the church. It involves promises which are made to Jesus Christ and to the church. At baptism parents speak words of Christian commitment, the child is again named, and water poured over their head, prayers are said.

Baptism is the main mark of membership of the Christian Church and parents bringing their child for baptism promise to bring them up as Christians. Which includes, coming regularly to church worship, encouraging their child to pray and helping them to read the bible etc.

Baptism, of course, is not confined to babies, infants and children! We can be baptised at any age, and as we grow and mature in years, many adults are now coming to a place of wanting to explore the Christian faith and to then commit to following Jesus, and to mark this by baptism and confirmation. We offer a short course for those wanting to explore the Christian faith before making any decision, and offer an open invitation to you to come along to this informal, fun and interactive course. All adults who wish to be baptised will be expected to attend this course first.

How do I book a baptism?

If you wish to book a baptism or please ring Mr Steve Wilson, Parish Administrator on 0114 245 7564 or by email holytrinityth@gmail.com. When you meet with the vicar she will book a service date for you. We ask all those preparing for baptism to commit to regularly coming along to the monthly ‘Family Service!’ held on the first Sunday of each at 10am.