|
Christenings at Michaelhouse
We are very pleased that you are hoping to be baptised yourself, or seeking for a member of your family to be baptised. At Michaelhouse we welcome to baptism people of any age who seek to live the Christian life.
At Christenings, or baptism, we come together to give thanks to God for his gift of new life and to pray for those who set out on their journey of faith. Jesus himself commanded his followers to go and baptise women and men in the name of God (Gospel of Saint Matthew, 28.19-20). The word 'baptism' comes from the Greek and means 'to immerse in water' or 'to plunge into water'. People speak of a 'Christening' because all who are baptised share in a new life: the life of Christ.
To share in the life of Christ means to reject those things that are evil, or sinful. Before their baptism, the candidates (or, in the case of small children, their parents and godparents) declare their rejection of evil and their allegiance to Christ. They are then taken to the place of baptism, where they are marked with the sign of the cross and baptised with water in the name of God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit. In baptism Christ receives us as his child (Letter to the Romans, 8.15-17), forgives us our sins and grants us the gift of his Holy Spirit (Acts of the Apostles, 2.38).
We believe that at baptism people make a special commitment to Christ and we want to get to know you personally and prepare you for this important step. That’s why you’ll need to be parishioner, or a member of one of our congregations, before you can be baptised at Michaelhouse. If you or your child would like to be baptised here, you need either to live in the geographical parish of Great St Mary’s with St Michael’s—and this applies to very few people since the parish is very small—work at Michaelhouse, or be a member of the Michaelhouse or Great St Mary’s congregation. In order to become a member of our congregation, you will need to join the Church Membership Roll, called the Electoral Roll, for which you declare that you have worshipped regularly here for six months. If you have small children, you might want to join our regular children’s service, Young Families Together!, on the first Sunday of every month at 11.15am, adults may wish to join the many other regular worship events here.
The Chaplain is happy to answer any questions you might have about joining our congregation, or the service itself. Prior to the service, you will have a chance to meet and discuss the promises you make, and the ceremony in detail.
|
