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Your Child's Baptism

Having a Baby is one of the most joyful moments in life and many people want to mark it with a special event - and Baptism is one of the occasions which many people think of straight away. Baptism is much more than simply naming the child - it is a time when the church community comes together to welcome the child and the parents and godparents make promises to bring the baby up in the Christian faith. This is something which requires a degree of preparation so that parents and godparents can understand something of the promises they are making. We want to help you to make the most of your child's Baptism and we hope the information below will be of use.

Click here for an Enquiry Form.
Click here for FAQ - The Frequently Asked Questions about Baptism at BFPC.
Click here for our Baptism Policy.
Click here to read the Baptism Service.
Click here to read Thanksgiving Service.

A Baptism Service ....

We are really pleased to hear that you are interested in having your child Baptised at BFPC or Langton Long. As a Church, we believe that Baptism is an extremely important step for anyone to take, whether it is because of their own desire to be baptised or it is a desire to have their child Baptised. In either situation, Baptism involves life-changing promises to be made and it is our desire that those involved are fully equipped to decide whether they feel able to make these promises.

We would like to invite you to a series of Baptism Preparation Evenings, where you will have an opportunity to discuss the issues involved and make up your mind about what is best for you and/or your child.

We would like both parents to be present, especially for the last session, and all the evenings will run from 7.30pm - 9.00pm at the Parish Centre (opposite the Post Office and the Library) and we promise to keep these sessions to time to help make your babysitting arrangements easier (please let us know if we can help with those). The sessions are a mixture of DVD, discussion and some simple interactive exercises.

After the sessions we will give you the opportunity to respond to what we have looked at together, and we will also suggest possible dates for a baptism.

If you feel that you would like to find out more, you can have a look at the service and the promises involved by clicking here to read the service. If you would like to find out more and talk to someone about a Baptism for your child, please contact the Parish Office please contact the office at for more details or fill in an enquiry form by clicking here. You can email it, post it or deliver it by hand - either way, someone will be in touch to talk to you in the near future to talk about Baptism and what it means.

A Thanksgiving Service .....

....is a way of saying "Thank You" to God for the precious gift you have received. Some people feel that it would not be appropriate to make promises at a Baptism Service which they do not feel comfortable with and chose a Thanksgiving Service instead. We firmly believe that God loves you and your child just as much as a child who has been baptised but this service does not require you to make any statements of faith or promises about the way you intend to raise your child. you can have a look at the service and the promises involved by clicking here to read the service - but if you would like to talk to someone about this, please email us by clicking here: or by filling in the enquiry form by clicking here. You do not have to decide in advance about this - come along and find out all about both Thanksgiving and Baptism ... and then decide what is right for you and your child. Thanksgiving Services are also usually held at the All Age Services on the second Sunday of March, June, September and December.

What about Godparents .....?

....Godparents are important people who have special tasks ! They promise to help their godchild come to know God, encourage him or her in their membership of the local church and take an interest in their spiritual life. They do this by making the same promises as the child's parents on behalf of the child being baptised. They commit themselves to pray for the child and help the parents bring up the child in the Christian faith. Children usually have two or more godparents, sometimes two of whom which are the same sex as the child. They can be family members or friends (and parents can also be godparents). But to carry out this role, the Church of England requires that all godparents have been baptised and preferably confirmed as well.

What about an older child .....?

....Sometimes people bring their babies for baptism when they are less than a year old - but sometimes other things get in the way and the child may be a lot older ! The age of the child does not matter, but when they reach secondary school age, we suggest that the child is old enough to take on the questions for themselves and so we suggest they consider joining our "Growing In Faith" course, which leads towards Baptism and Conformation for teenagers and adults. If you want to talk to someone about this, please contact us and we will be happy to chat about the best thing for you and your child.

Our prayer is that God will bless you as a parent and equip you to raise your children in ways that will enable you, as a family, to find out more about him and grow to love and worship him in your lives - please come along and find out more !