Welcome to St Martin’s and thank you for enquiring about having your child or children christened/baptised at St Martin’s. We are thrilled that you are thinking of baptism for your child. Taking this step which marks the beginning of what we pray will be a life-long journey of discovery of the love of God in Jesus Christ as members of God’s family. 

Baptism at St Martin’s?

We are always delighted to carry out baptisms for regular members of our congregation and for people who live within our parish boundaries. If you live outside the parish boundaries, you are welcome to join St Martin’s and, after you have settled in and started to take an active part in church life, we are happy to baptize you or your child. This will usually be around six months regular worship. Alternatively, we are happy to direct you to your local parish church where the baptism can take place.

When do Baptisms Happen?

Except in very special circumstances, baptisms happen at the main Sunday morning service at 10am on the first Sunday of the month. This is because we want your child to be welcomed into the church by the people of God alongside your family and friends. Being a Christian is never just a private ceremony but always involves the wider community and the new Christian family, the Church.

Because having a Baptism significantly changes the shape of the Sunday service for the whole congregation we have Baptisms on a set number of Sundays in the year, usually 5/6 and we try to limit the numbers so that no more than three children are ever baptised at one service.

About Godparents

All children who are being baptised will need to have one godfather and one godmother. We would encourage you to have a maximum of about 4 godparents.

All godparents must themselves have been baptised and at least one parent or godparent should also be confirmed. They can belong to any mainstream Christian Church (Roman Catholic, Methodist, Baptist, Greek Orthodox etc.) but they have to be happy to support the child being brought us as a member of the Church of England. We do recognise that families often have friends of other world faiths or who do not believe, and who would not be comfortable or able to make Christian vows. While they cannot be godparents, we can provide some special words for these important people to say that avoid compromise or confusion. Please speak to the clergy about this.

To find out more:

https://www.churchofengland.org/life-events/christenings/guide-godparents

Preparing You for Your Child’s Baptism

A member of the clergy will arrange to visit you during the couple of months before the day of the Baptism. We will talk about the promises that you will make and the meaning of different parts of the service. We will also try to answer any more general questions you may have about Christianity, faith or the church. We also will answer any practical questions about the day.

Thinking it all Through

To begin to think about your child’s baptism and what is right for your child go to:

https://www.churchofengland.org/life-events/christenings/parents-guide-christenings

To help your guests who may not be familiar with a baptism:

https://www.churchofengland.org/life-events/christenings/warm-welcome-christening-guests

All of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. (Galatians 3:27)