Information and FAQs about "Growing in Faith"

What's It All About ? "I've been Christened ... is that the same as being Baptised ?" "Does being Confirmed mean that I can take now take Communion ?" "What does being a Christian actually mean ?"

Questions, questions, questions ..... thinking about what it means to be Baptised and Confirmed can get quite complicated and confusing ! So before we begin, let's try and be clear about what we are talking about ....

What does it mean to be a Christian ?

In simple terms, a Christian is someone who accepts that Jesus Christ is who he says he is and wants to follow him throughout their life. It does not mean they never do anything wrong or don't have doubts about their faith - it means that they have taken a decision that this is what they want for their life.

What does it mean to be Christened or Baptised ?

Most of us think of the Church as the building where people go to meet on a Sunday. According to the Bible, the church is not the building but the people who meet together - the people who follow Jesus: i.e. Christians ! The Church is a kind of club and just like any organisation, in order to become a member you have to do a few things and agree to abide by the club rules. Baptism is the ceremony that people go through in order to become life members of God's club, the church and once you are a member, you are a member for life - so you only need to be baptised once.

When a baby is born, the parents may want their baby to become a member of the church immediately and so they are baptised as a baby, or "Christened". The parents make promises that they will bring the baby up to be a member of the club, to participate in club activities (i.e. go to Junior Church and Church itself) and do all the things that the club suggests that members should do (eg pray and read the Bible). The parents also promise to encourage the baby to want to do these things for themselves once they are old enough.

For other parents, they want exactly the same things for their child but believe that the child should be old enough to decide for themselves that they want to be a member of the club, so they have a Thanksgiving Service instead of a Christening.

It is possible that you were Christened as a baby - and so you are already a life member, but would like to make the decision your own. Or it may be that you had a Thanksgiving instead, or neither a Christening or Thanksgiving happened when you were a baby - and so you are thinking about wanting to become a life member of the Church.

So what are the options for me ?

If you were Christened (baptised as a baby) .... then you might be thinking about saying that you want to be a Christian, a follower of Jesus, and you want to make your own decision to be a member of the Church - in other words, you want to "confirm" the membership. So you are thinking about Confirmation.

If neither a Christening or Thanksgiving happened when you were a baby .... then you, too, might be thinking about wanting to be a member of the Church and so you are thinking about being Baptised (the ceremony whereby you become a member of God's club, the Church).

So where does Confirmation come into all of this ?

Confirmation is what happens when people make the same promises as were made at their Baptism (whether as an adult or on their behalf as a baby) and then a Bishop lays his hands on them and asks God to fill them with the Holy Spirit. In doing so, the Bishop, as an elder in the Church, recognises the promises that have been made and asks God to give you the Holy Spirit to help you to follow Jesus day by day and do the things that God wants you to do in your life.

Some of these ideas are quite complicated and "Growing in Faith" is a course which aims to explore the issues and questions that surround Baptism and Confirmation and to enable individuals to decide whether the time is right for them to take the next step in their faith.

If you have any more questions about "Growing in Faith", send us an email ... and tell us about it!

	Click here to read about "Growing in Faith"
	Click here to read FAQ about being Baptised or Confirmed.
	Click here to read the details of the 2009 Course.

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