Christening / Baptism

Baptism (or you can call it christening) is about becoming a member of the Church. At St John’s most people are baptised or christened when they are still a baby or a child, but adults can be baptised too. If you think you’d like to have your child baptised, or you’d like to talk about being baptised yourself, please contact Jenny. The rector.

Please contact Younis, the Rector either by phone or email. We will set a date with you, and invite you, and your child’s godparents to come along to the rehearsal, usually at 5pm on the Sunday evening before the baptism service the next day. Brothers and sisters, Grandma’s and Grandad’s often like to come too! At this rehearsal, the priest officiating at the service and members of our baptism team will be there to welcome you and your friends, go through the service with you and answer any questions you may have, so that you feel at home in this new community which you and your child are joining, and can relax and enjoy Sunday’s service.  A word about godparents…….    When you book your child baptism, we will send you an information leaflet about being a Godparent which we hope you will find helpful. Please remember that to be a godparent, you must be over 16 years old, and baptised (and preferably confirmed as well- if you don’t know what that is please ask!).    To arrange a baptism please call Younis Francis , the Rector on 0208 6572343 / 07504 721294 or email revd.younis@gmail.com

Parents and godparents make important promises – that they will pray for the person being baptised, that they will give them a good example of Christian living, and that they will encourage them to come to confirmation when they are ready. The priest will pour water over the head of the person being baptised three times with the words “I baptise you in the name of the father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit”.  The baptism service is full of rich symbolism which is designed to help you think about what it means to be loved by God in this community he calls his church. We want you to be able to make the most of this happy time, so in preparation for the baptism service, we ask you to come along to a simple rehearsal the evening before, where we can go through the service with you, unpack some of the ideas with you, and introduce you to members of the church family who will be there at the service to help you.