Baptism for a Child
at
St. Luke’s Episcopal Church
Scituate, MA
4/07
From the service of Baptism, this is the first question asked of the parents and godparents/sponsors:
“Will you be responsible for seeing that the child you present is brought up in the Christian faith and life? With the response, ‘I will, with God's help.’”
And later all gathered are asked, and respond:
“Will you continue in the Apostle’s teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread and in the prayers? To which we all respond, ‘I will, with God’s help.’”
Some important perspectives to bear in mind:
+You and your child are welcome at St. Luke’s. We have a nursery and Sunday School program for children of all ages to help them grow in the faith.
+The Church does not teach that a child who dies unbaptized will fall short of achieving heaven. Therefore you need not feel some urgency to have your child baptized in order to avoid bad things.
+Rather, baptism is a uniting with Jesus Christ in his birth, death, and resurrection, and a uniting with the body of Christ in the local church family.
+We live in a day and time when we have many demands on our time, energy and loyalty. In seeking baptism for your child you are claiming the central role of God and the church for you and your child. The promises you make quoted above, from the 11 promises you will make at the baptism service, affirm this centrality and its implications for how you pattern your life.
To arrange a baptism:
1. Contact the rector as ahead of time as possible; three to four months is a good time frame. He will arrange a time to visit with you face to face if you have not had the chance to do so already. Weekday evening and Saturday times are available for this.
2. We ask that you participate in a three session preparation class with other parents preparing for baptism. Not only will you get a refresher about the basics of the faith but you will also get to know other parents in your small group. Meetings will be on late Sunday afternoons and child care will be provided.
3. Baptisms are most traditionally performed on six dates:
a. Easter
b. Pentecost (50 days after Easter, so usually late May/early June)
c. All Saints (on or around November 1)
d. The Feast of the Baptism of Jesus (on or near January 8)
e. When the Bishop is visiting.
f. The Sunday closest to the Feast of St. Luke, after whom this parish is named, October 18th.
4. With prior arrangement baptism is appropriate to any Sunday, each of which is a feast of the resurrection. Further considerations will be important for scheduling such dates: the number of other baptisms occurring on or near the same sought for date, other events in the parish life together, constraints and concerns about your family, godparents, and friends being able to attend.
5. Sponsors/godparents:
a. In addition to the parents who are also sponsors, you need two godparents, traditionally one of each gender. They should be baptized and be able to make and keep the promises asked of them.
b. You may have more than two godparents.
6. Send to the office in advance:
a. the full name of the child
b. the full names of parents and sponsors
c. birth date and place for the child
What if I currently do not attend St. Luke’s?
That is, what if I have not attended St. Luke’s other than Christmas and/or Easter in the past year?
1. If you live locally (within a 30 minute driving distance from St Luke’s). A common pattern in our day and time is for younger adults with a newborn or young child to seek out baptism and by extension a church home after not attending church for a significant time. We welcome you. We want you to regard St. Luke’s as your faith home. We ask that you participate in a three session preparation class with other parents preparing for baptism. Not only will you get a refresher about the basics of the faith but you will also get to know other parents in your small group. Meetings will be on late Sunday afternoons and child care will be provided.
2. This is a congregation of rich ties to grown children now married and having children. For some it is important to return to where they were baptized for their children’s own ceremony. You will be encouraged to establish ties to a congregation local to you, where you can live out the promises you have made on the day of the baptism.
Fees:
1. There is no fee for baptisms performed on Sundays at the already scheduled services. Thanksgiving gifts, if you chose to make one, can be directed to Children’s Christian Education Program of St. Luke’s.
2. In the rare event when a service is held other than on a Sunday morning, due to extenuating circumstances of health, family, travel and other logistics, the fee is $100 for the sexton (janitor) and $150 for the clergy.
