Baptisms     

hand on waterInfant Baptisms

Everyone is welcome to have their children christened in their parish church. During the christening service your child will be baptized and with the support of the church, you and godparents, your child begins an amazing journey of faith.  Through the baptism service you are saying that you believe in God through Jesus and that you want to follow him. 

People can be baptised at any age and many families choose to wait until their child is ready to  make their own decision about faith. We also have a Service of Thanksgiving where a family can give thanks to God for the child and ask for His blessing, leaving a baptism until they are older.

If you would like your baby or child to be baptised here, you may find the following information useful. 

We hold baptisms on the last Sunday of every month. The baptism service is part of our main Sunday morning service, as we welcome the baby or child into the Christian family. We invite prospective parents to come and join us to a Baptism service so they can get a feel for what it will be like when they come with their family and guests.

Parents are then invited to join a Baptism Preparation Course. These are two sessions, normally held on two consecutive Sundays, and they last approximately two hours each.

Service of Thanksgiving

This service recognises that God is important in your child's life, but you don't have to make a commitment to helping your child grow up as part of the church in the same way that you are expected to in Baptism. You can still choose to have a baptism at a later date.

A Thanksgiving Service takes place as part of the regular Sunday Service at St Matthew's, at 10am. The service will include all the things you would expect to find there: some music, prayers, a Bible reading and a short talk. During the service you (as parents) will be asked some questions. Don't worry though! They are straightforward and you don't have to learn the answers.