Baptism

What is Baptism?

Click the link to the Church of England Website:

Can we have the service at St. Paul's?

We would normally expect you: + EITHER to live in the parish + OR to have a connection with the parish - a parent or grandparent, brother or sister, attended church or was baptised or confirmed or married at St. Paul's.

Please note that if you come from Hollinwood or Limeside, St. Margaret's is booking services. Please ring the office on 0161 682 5106 for more information.

Cost

There is no charge for a service of baptism. However we do invite you to make a donation.

The Service

Follow the link to find out more:

Godparents

You should choose your godparents wisely!

Other Families

Please note that it is quite possible that there will be another family at your service.

Baptism, through the death and life of Christ, is into membership of the wider family of the church, and you should not be surprised if there are members of that wider family present, also getting baptised.

Our services do not normally exceed two families for practical reasons: however it is possible that in exceptional services, there may be three different families present for a baptism service.

Times

You have two options here at St. Paul's Church.

  • The service can take place at 10:00 am - as part of the Church's main act of worship, with members of the congregation present. As part of a service of Holy Communion, this will usually take just over an hour.
  • The service can take place at 11:45 am - with your family and friends representing the whole body of the church. This service will take 45 minutes. It will also include a couple of well-known hymns, and some prayers.

Dates (1)

We understand that you may also want to book a venue for the party after the Baptism. However, please do not book the venue before discussing dates with the church. While we will try to be flexible, there are certain Sundays where we cannot conduct a Baptism service. Usually you cannot normally book a baptism for a service during Lent or Advent, or in August.

The baptism calendar, showing dates when a service is available at 11:45am. If you wish it may well be possible to have a baptism at 10:00 am on these dates, as a part of the main Sunday Service.

Dates (2)

Click to link to find the available dates for a service at 11:45 am.

We are also happy to arrange services at 10:00 am, as part of the main Sunday act of Worship, on the 1st and 3rd Sundays of the month.

The Rehearsal

We would expect you to come to a rehearsal on the Thursday before the Baptism at 6:00pm or another time for about 30 minutes. This is to prepare for the service so that everyone can be relaxed and enjoy the day - and to find out more about what baptism means. We do not expect everyone to be there, but if enough people know what they are doing, then that will help the service to run much more smoothly.

Making a Booking

We encourage families to come to the Church Service on a Sunday morning at 10:00 am, to learn more about the faith into which the child is to be baptised. There are forms available after church. You can collect a form afterwards, or leave one. There is a service every Sunday morning, often with Sunday School. There is no need to ring in advance, just turn up on a Sunday morning and ask for a form. Alternatively you can click the link to download the form.

Once you have filled the form in, bring it back to church on a Sunday morning. On the baptism form feel free to put down a couple of preferred dates from the list of available dates in the next section. When you have submitted the form, we will confirm a date with you. Please note that many enquirers leave incorrect or inaudible contact details on the Vicarage answerphone, and we have not been able to get back in touch. This is frustrating for all concerned. The best way of making a booking is simply to follow the instructions above.

Afterwards

The church sees baptism as the first step in a journey of faith - a journey that we all make throughout our lives from God, and to God. So it is important to think carefully about what happens after baptism.

Church Schools

If your child hopes to go to a Church of England school, regular church attendance is essential. Baptism is not enough. Please see the admissions policies for more information:

Confirmation

Confirmation is when you as an adult take on the promises that were made for you when you were Baptised.

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