Baptisms

Baptism in the Ouse Valley Benefice

Baptism is a moment of great joy and significance in life and you and your family and friends will be very welcome in our churches. 

For some it’s as a baby or young child; for others it’s when we come to faith as an adult. For those around them, it’s about the declaration of promises and a welcoming into God’s family. Jesus was baptised and told his followers to go out into the world, to preach the gospel and to baptise others. 

If you live in one of our parishes or regularly attend one of our churches and would like your child (or yourself) baptised, then please contact our Vicar, Rev'd Nigel Moat. One of the first things you will need to do if you are seeking baptism for a younger child is to complete our Baptism Application Form. If you are seeking baptism for an older child who is making the decision themselves, or as an adult, you won't need to complete the form at this stage as there is a different process in this case.

If you do not live in one of our parishes and don't attend one of our churches, we would need to discuss the options with you before we can agree to the Baptism as it is normal practice to be baptised in your own parish church or the church you attend. If this is the case we would normally ask for other qualifying connections similar to those that are required when it comes to weddings. This may mean, for example, that you would need to attend one of our churches for a period of time before the Baptism can take place.

We hold baptismal services in our main Sunday morning services as Baptism is an opportunity to welcome you and your family as part of the main church family. Depending on which church the Baptism will take place this could be at 9.30, 10 or 11am. However, not all of our churches have a service every week so we will need to bear this in mind when planning a date for the baptism.

When a baby or young child is baptised, the families and Godparents are asked to make promises before God on behalf of the child. We will be more than happy to explain what these promises are about and why they are so important. For older children and adults, you make these promises for yourself and we may invite you to a Baptism course before your Baptism takes place. You can see a standard order of service here - this includes the promises that are made during a service of Baptism.

For babies, as well as baptisms, we also offer Services of Thanksgiving for the birth of a child. This might be an option for parents who are not wishing to make baptismal promises on behalf of their child - and hence leaving the door open for them to make their own decisions at a later date.

If you would like to know more, please do get in touch!