All parents are welcome to have their baby or child baptized during a Christening service in their local parish church. Around 10,000 babies and children are baptized in the Church of England every month.
Your child is precious to you and precious to God. During the Christening service, which often takes place as part of a main Sunday morning service, parents thank God for his gift of life and promise to start their child on a journey of faith. Godparents promise their help and support, and the congregation welcomes the child into the local Christian community and promises to pray for the family.
Baptism during a Christening service marks the start of a lifelong journey for your child in the family of the Church.
Some parents may wish to celebrate the gift of their child in a Thanksgiving service without the commitment associated with Baptism. During such a service parents give thanks for their child who is blessed and for whom prayers are said, and family and friends promise to support the parents in the upbringing of their child.
We also welcome adults who wish to be baptized. In most cases adults are baptised shortly before or during a service of Confirmation, when individuals affirm the faith into which they have been baptized and are admitted as full members of the Church.
If you live in one of the parishes of The Haven Churches, or are a regular worshipper at any of our churches, and would like to find out more about Baptism or a Thanksgiving service, please contact us.
Please click on the above to discover all you need to know about choosing, planning and going to a Church of England christening service.
