Christenings at St Philip and St Paul with Wesley

We are delighted you are considering having your child christened at PPW. During a christening, your child will be baptized with water. It’s the start of an amazing journey of faith for your child and a special day for all your friends and family. Here are the answers to frequently asked questions to help you discover what is involved.

The birth of some children is carefully planned – others come as a surprise, but it is always a wonderful privilege and a great responsibility to care for a child. Your child is precious to you and precious to God. You want the best for them, and so does God. You want them to make the right choices for themselves and others. A christening is just the beginning.

What is a Christening?

It is a special service in which your child is baptized, symbolizing the first steps of an amazing journey with God, parents, godparents, friends, family and the church. A lifetime of discovering more about love, faith, and hope begins, a wonderful moment to celebrate with people who are important to you and your family and with the church family into which your child is welcomed. Your child is precious to you and precious to God. You want the very best for them, and so does God. You want them to make the right choices in life, for themselves and others.

What happens in the Service?

Parents and Godparents declare their own faith and make promises about bringing up the child to know Christ for themselves and about bringing them up as part of the church family. Water is poured over the child’s head, baptizing him or her in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. The child is welcomed into the church family. It is a moment of celebration for everyone. Most christenings take place within our main 10.30am service. To get a feel of our services, we’d love to see you on any Sunday morning so that you feel more at home with us and meet the church family that your child may be baptized into.

Godparents

Godparents’ role is to support parents and their children. Their responsibilities are to help the child to come to know God by praying regularly for them and encouraging them in their Christian faith. Normally, a boy has two godfathers and one godmother, and a girl has two godmothers and one godfather, but you can have more if you wish.

Thanksgiving Service

If you decide christening is not the path you wish to pursue, our church is also happy to offer a Service of Thanksgiving, which is an opportunity to say ‘thank you’ to God for your child without having to make promises which you may not feel comfortable about making. You can always choose to have a Christening for the child at a later date if you wish to.

Helpful resources

If you are interested in learning more about getting your child/ren christened in a church then take a look at links we have provided below. A Guide to Christenings Discover all you need to know about choosing, planning and going to a Church of England christening. Baptisms in the Methodist Church in Britain