Baptisms At Holy Angels and Holy Family
Our beautiful font at Holy Angels which came from the original St Dunstan’s Church in Woking.
What is Baptism?
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. (Mt 28:19)
At the end of his earthly ministry Jesus commands his disciples to share the Christian faith, invite people to become followers of Jesus, disciples like them.
This is more than just a decision for us to make, for ourselves, or for our children. It is an invitation to God to work in our lives through the Sacrament of baptism.
Baptism is the very first sacrament of the Christian life. It unites us with Jesus Christ, incorporates us into his redemptive death on the Cross, thereby freing us from the power of Original Sin and all personal sins, and causes us to rise with him to a life without end. Since Baptism is a covenant with God, the individual must say Yes to it. In the baptism of children, the parents confess the Faith on behalf of the children. (Youcat 194)
In being baptised as adults, or in choosing to share the most precious gift of life in God with our children we are making a real commitment to live in friendship with God. This includes a commitment to come to Mass on Sundays as all Catholic Christians are bound to do.
How do we have our children baptised?
Congratulations if you have a new born child. What a precious gift from God. The process for getting children baptised at Holy Family Angels Churches is:
Fill in an application form – these can be collected from the Church when you attending mass. We ask you also to fill-in a GDPR form so we can make sure you are on our parishioners database.
Contact the parish office to arrange to attend a baptism evening. We run these every few weeks to help you understand what baptism is, to explain the Service to you, and to help you understand the obligations you are accepting in bringing your children up as practicing Catholics. You need to be regularly attending mass to proceed to this stage.
Having attended the baptism evening you can now book a baptism date with the Parish Office.
After the baptism a certificate will be available for you to collect after mass. Let us know which Church you will be attending mass at so we can welcome you properly.
What if our children are older?
Children who have begun to attend school will need to be prepared for the day, and must be attending church. If they are 7 years old or older then they are treated as young adults and need to be prepared differently as they will need to make their own decision (with your help) to be baptised and to become a practicing Christian, this will involve participation in a First Holy Communion or Confirmation Course, depending on their age.
Baptism as an adult?
There is no age limit to getting baptised! Jesus calls us all, young and old to follow him. If you are seeking baptism as an adult then you will need to speak to Fr Robin about RCIA (The Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults).