Baptism

Organising a baptism or thanksgiving services in Cove

We love children and welcome all parents who want to celebrate the birth of their baby.

We offer two types of service: Baptism (sometimes known as a Christening) or Thanksgiving.

Baptism involves the parents and godparents making declarations about their faith as Christian. It is the beginning of an exciting journey of faith and a chance to celebrate your child as a gift from God. In choosing to have a child christened, parents are saying that their child is precious to them and precious to God!

You might also like to take a look at the Church of England’s helpful website on Christenings. (Christening is another word for child baptism). www.churchofenglandchristenings.org

If you do not feel able to make professions of faith on behalf of your child you could choose a thanksgiving service to celebrate the birth instead of baptism, because the element of commitment is more open.

Baptism Date and Venue

There are two different Churches in our parish, St John’s Church and Christ Church (formerly called St Christophers).

We recommend that your child is baptised in one of the 10:30 am Sunday services in the family celebration which is once a month. (Children’s groups do not meet during a family celebration as the service is appropriate for all ages.)

If the baptism is in Christ Church Cove during the morning service then it will be live-streamed, which is good for family and friends who cannot make it.

There is some limited availability throughout the year to hold baptisms 1:00 pm Sunday on the first Sunday of the month. This is currently booked up several months in advance.

We have a Parish Hall at St Johns that you can book for your celebrations, please ask for more details!

Cost

We do not charge for baptisms; they are our gift to you! There will be a collection plate at the back of the Church or details on our website if you would like to make a voluntary contribution towards to the work of the Church.

Criteria

Anyone can ask to have their child baptised! A child (or adult) can be baptised at any age.

If you don’t live in the parish (enter your postcode here to find out www.achurchnearyou.com) we ask you to contact your local vicar to seek their permission. If you live a long way from our parish we would seek to connect you with your local Church.

We ask that you come along one Sunday before the baptism so that you can get to know us and come to our short baptism preparation course called “We Welcome You.”

Our service times are;

  • 9am traditional service at St Johns
  • 10.30am informal service St Johns
  • 10.30am service with kids work Christ Church

Also check our website and facebook page for special seasonal services such as Easter and Christmas.

Please let us know when you plan to come so that we can welcome you.

You are more than welcome to come to join our services anytime you are able or would like to. (Our services are also streamed online on the Parish of Cove YouTube Channel and Facebook page if you would like to check them out.)

If the baptism is not held as part of our morning service, we will ask you to come to a morning service so that the Church can welcome you to the Church family and present you with the baptism certificate, a candle and a Bible.

Baptism Preparation Course

We run regular courses we ask you to attend to prepare and plan you for the baptism as well as offering you the chance to get to know some other baptism families.

The course is called “We Welcome You”, it’s relaxed, fun, interactive and there will be tea, coffee and food! It is run over 3 evenings; Session 1 is “Getting Ready”, session 2 “the big day”, session 3 “the journey continues”. We will talk through what is involved in the service as part of the course.

Godparents

You may already be choosing Godparents. They’ll be people whom 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.

Because of the very special role they have in supporting your child’s faith journey, godparents must be baptised themselves and will need to make some big promises about God in the service. (Their baptism does not need to be in the Church of England, we recognise other Christian denominations' baptism, e.g., Methodist, Baptist, Catholic.)

If someone is not baptised and Godparents, you could ask to have them as a supporting friend who can be involved in the service but are not official Godparents.

Traditionally every child should have at least three godparents, two of the same sex and at least one of the opposite sex to your child. Any more than 6 Godparents might be impractical!

We can also offer The Alpha course, where you can explore deeper into the Christian faith asking all those questions you would like to have answered.

Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.”

- Matthew 19:14 -

Ready to start organising a Baptism?

Please complete the form below to securely provide details of the children and their Parents to start organising what you want for your baptism.
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