Proud Parents Craig & Rosa with Rev'd Caspar Bush at their Baby's Baptism.
Christenings/baptisms are held in all five of our churches, mostly in the afternoon but also in the Sunday morning service to suit the need of the families. The team is delighted to talk to you about being baptised or having your child/children baptised. Just use the contact form on the home page or email Rev’d Chris Harrigan on redruthcurate@gmail.com we’ll be pleased to help!
BAPTISM IN THE REDRUTH TEAM MINISTRY
St Stephen Treleigh; St Andrew Redruth; St Euny; Christchurch Lanner; St Andrew Pencoys.
What?
Baptism is the rite of entry into the Christian church family. Usually in the Church of England we baptise children before they are old enough to be able to speak for themselves, so parents and Godparents make promises on their behalf. Because of the nature of these promises, under Church Law Godparents should themselves have been baptised, and parents too, naturally. If you particularly want someone to be included in the service who is not baptised, they can be a ‘supportive friend’ who appears at the front of church alongside other Godparents, and would not be treated any differently from Godparents in the service, except that we would not enter their names in our church baptism register. Or parents and potential Godparents may wish to be baptised themselves, which would be great! But for an adult to be baptised there is some preparation involved, and there is an understanding that such candidates would go on to be confirmed by the Bishop in due course, so we would need at least three months’ notice of this please.
When?
Most of our baptisms take place outside the main Sunday service, typically at 1pm, but we can also do baptisms in a main Sunday morning service. If you particularly would like a baptism on a Sunday morning, then you need to come along to a regular church service before you apply for a baptism. That way you can meet some of the people in the church family that your child is to be baptised into. A main service with Holy Communion which includes a baptism takes about 75 minutes. A stand-alone baptism at 1pm takes about 30 minutes. Please note that sometimes another family may be bringing their child for baptism at the same service as you.
How?
Please ask for an application form, giving a preferred date, and a second choice date. We will acknowledge receipt of your application, and confirm the date. One or two weeks before the date of the baptism one of our priests will contact you to arrange a visit, normally in your home. They will explain what happens at the service, and answer any questions you may have.
How much?
Baptism represents the free gift of God’s love to the world. Therefore unlike weddings and funerals, there is no statutory charge so we rely completely on donations. If you really can’t afford to give anything, please don’t worry about this at all. But if you felt able to contribute something, that would help ensure we are still around to baptise children like yours in the future. If you wanted a guide, it costs us about £60 for each baptism we do. There will be a collection plate on the day to receive any donation you can give, and if you or any donors are tax payers then Gift Aid envelopes will be available.
