Baptism: All you need to know
What is baptism?
Baptism is the way we join the Christian family (the Church) and are given our ChristianWhat happens at baptism?
There are two aspects to baptism:- the outward sign performed by the minister
- the inward gift given by God.
- Everyone is baptised by having water poured over them.
- Everyone is baptised with the words In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
God’s gift is his Holy Spirit. This is too wonderful for us to explain in any one way, so we use many different pictures to help us see what God is doing for us in baptism: he forgives our sin, we are born again, he makes us his children, we inherit his kingdom.
Why bother with baptism?
We baptise people because it is the way God has chosen for men, women and children to join the Christian family and begin the Christian life. Jesus commanded it, Saint Peter and the apostles obeyed, and the Church has continued to do so ever since.Whom do I contact to arrange the baptism?
The Vicar, Father Neil Chatfield, is in charge of organising the service. You can contact him on 01323 721952. If he is unavailable, please leave your name and number on the answerphone so he can call you back.You can download the form which we need to arrange the baptism from the bottom of this page. It also contains these notes.
Who can be baptised at Christ Church?
Anyone can be baptised who is living in the Parish of Christ Church or who has strong links with the church, for example a regular attender of services at Christ Church. If you don’t know whether you live in the parish, you can use the Church of England’s Parish Finder to find out. NB: It may indicate that you are in the Parish of S Philip. The Parish Finder hasn’t caught up with recent changes yet, and that parish is now part of the Parish of Christ Church.What is the cost of the baptism ceremony?
The service of baptism is free, but if you would like to make a donation to the church it would be kindly received.When can the baptism take place?
Normally it is performed in the main Sunday service at 10:30am. This is so that those who are baptised can be welcomed into the family of God here at Christ Church.It’s also possible to have a more private service on Sundays at 12:30pm. This is particularly so that the members of your family who don’t attend many church services aren’t overwhelmed by the main Sunday Mass. Members of the parish congregation may attend the baptism to signify that the person baptised (the candidate) is joining the wider family of the whole Church of God.
We now administer baptism on a number of Sundays during the year, generally once every six weeks or so. This allows families to plan in advance for getting together, and allows us to ensure that we can accommodate baptism groups through the year along with other celebrations in the calendar. Please ask Fr Neil for details of dates planned for this year. If there are special reasons for choosing other dates (for example, in the case of service personnel posted overseas whose presence in this country is limited) please discuss this with Fr Neil.
What about the godparents?
The godparents must be baptised, and preferably confirmed, before they can carry out their duties. For each of those being baptised there should be no fewer than three godparents. Please make sure you have at least one godparent who is the same sex as the person being baptised.Other points of information
Families are most welcome here at Christ Church, and we have a creche corner with toys, books, etc. Please ask one of the sidesmen to direct you there if you wish.We ask those in the baptism party who are not regular churchgoers to be respectful of the service in progress and the worshippers around them.
If your baptism is within the main Sunday Mass, you are more than welcome to join us for coffee in the side aisle after the service so we can welcome you to the Church.
More information about baptism is available on the internet, published by the Church of England.
Download these notes
PDF file (576kb) The file is arranged so that the two pages can be printed back-to-back. The leaflet also includes the form to apply for a baptism at Christ Church, and more detailed notes about the responsibilities of parents and godparents.Records of baptisms
It’s a legal requirement that all baptisms/christenings within the Church of England are recorded. The Baptism Registers are a record of the fact that a baptism has taken place, and show the date of the service, and the full name of the candidate, together with his address, parents’ names and occupations, and the signature of the officiating minister. For recent baptisms, the names of godparents are also recorded.Although the Registers are a public record, data protection implications mean we are unwilling to publish them online. However we can search the registers we hold at Christ Church. Currently these record baptisms celebrated at Christ Church from December 1936 to the present. Baptism registers prior to December 1936 and those for S Philip’s Church (up to 2005) are in the County Records Office in Lewes.
To request a search of the registers at Christ Church, please email us including as much detail as possible. Please note that there is a statutory fee which is set by the Registrar-General and General Synod, and we hope that you will be able to make a donation at least matching this when we send the result of the search. There are also fees for replacement Certificates of Baptism which we can supply if we find your entry in the register. Details of this will be sent with the result.
Please note that as the registers are a historical record we do not alter them unless there can be shown to be an error of fact. The registers do not record the sex of a candidate and fall outside the provisions of the Gender Recognition Act 2004. It is not possible to “undo” baptism or to have a record expunged.
