Baptism or Christening? The same thing by different names!
In baptism, you as parents are thanking God for his gift of life, making a decision to start your child on the journey of faith and asking for the Church's support.For your child, baptism marks the start of a journey of faith, which involves turning away from all that is evil, turning towards Christ and becoming a member of the local and worldwide Christian family. Baptism is a 'sacrament' a visible sign of God's love. In baptism, we are thanking God for his gift of life and publicly acknowledging his love. We are acknowledging that we all need to turn away from selfishness and evil and to accept God’s offer of a new start. You can download a copy of the service we use below.
Normally, we only conduct Baptisms for people who live in the Parish of Wistaston (which includes Willaston).
[Click here to check whether you live in the parish, enter your post code, click the search arrow, and in the box on the left look for 'This is the parish Church' underneath the church details. The results are ranked by geographical closeness to you, so you parish church is not not always the top in the search.]
The reason for this is that we feel that ongoing Pastoral Care is best done through the Parish in which you live. Please note that when we say Parish we mean the Ecclesiastical Parish and not the Civic Parish as the borders differ. However, we will consider Baptisms requests from people who have a family or pastoral connection to the Parish of Wistaston & Willaston.
Godparents or sponsors should themselves be Baptised and of an age that they know the commitment they are to make.
Choosing Godparents
Choosing the right people as godparents for your child is a big decision. Here are some key things to bear in mind that the Church of England requires:
Normally, we only conduct Baptisms for people who live in the Parish of Wistaston (which includes Willaston).
[Click here to check whether you live in the parish, enter your post code, click the search arrow, and in the box on the left look for 'This is the parish Church' underneath the church details. The results are ranked by geographical closeness to you, so you parish church is not not always the top in the search.]
The reason for this is that we feel that ongoing Pastoral Care is best done through the Parish in which you live. Please note that when we say Parish we mean the Ecclesiastical Parish and not the Civic Parish as the borders differ. However, we will consider Baptisms requests from people who have a family or pastoral connection to the Parish of Wistaston & Willaston.
Godparents or sponsors should themselves be Baptised and of an age that they know the commitment they are to make.
Choosing Godparents
Choosing the right people as godparents for your child is a big decision. Here are some key things to bear in mind that the Church of England requires:
- Every child should have at least three godparents, two of the same sex and at least one of the opposite sex to your child, although there is no official maximum number of godparents, three or four is usual
- Because of the very special role godparents have in supporting your child’s faith journey, they must be baptized themselves
- Godparents will be people who’ll be in touch with your family for many years to come, they may be relatives or friends of the family
- They’ll be people who you know you can trust and who’ll be there for your child to talk about the bigger questions in life; questions about faith, hope and love
- Parents may be godparents for their own children, providing they are themselves Baptised and they choose at least one other godparent
- People of other faiths, or none, can be included in the Baptism service as "supporters or sponsors", but not as official godparents
How to book a Baptism
The Baptism Application Form can be accessed via the button below and must be completed by a person who has the legal parental responsibility for the child named on it. If another person(s) share that legal parental responsibility with you, who is not your spouse/partner named on the application, you must declare this on the application. If this is the case, we will require their permission before the Baptism can take place.
We usually conduct Baptisms on a Sunday at either 10:40am or 12:30pm - please see the details on the Booking Form below for specific available dates and times.
We give priority for booking to those who live in the Parish of Wistaston & Willaston. We recommend that you check whether you live in the Parish by clicking here achurchnearyou.com and check with your Post Code. Once entered it will tell you on the left which is your Parish Church (look for the one that states 'This is the Parish Church'). We will consider requests from those who live in another Parish who have a family or pastoral connection with the Parish which can be explained later on the form.
If you are not ready to book, but wish to make an enquiry please email the Church Office (or if you prefer call on 01270 567119) and we will get back to you.
We usually conduct Baptisms on a Sunday at either 10:40am or 12:30pm - please see the details on the Booking Form below for specific available dates and times.
We give priority for booking to those who live in the Parish of Wistaston & Willaston. We recommend that you check whether you live in the Parish by clicking here achurchnearyou.com and check with your Post Code. Once entered it will tell you on the left which is your Parish Church (look for the one that states 'This is the Parish Church'). We will consider requests from those who live in another Parish who have a family or pastoral connection with the Parish which can be explained later on the form.
If you are not ready to book, but wish to make an enquiry please email the Church Office (or if you prefer call on 01270 567119) and we will get back to you.