Baptisms/Christenings
Welcome to the enquiry page about baptisms/christenings.
If you are interested in being baptised or having a child baptised/christened, then please contact the office by clicking here.
What is baptism?
Baptism is the outward sign of a commitment to Jesus in response to his commitment to us. Using water symbolises two things:
- Washing - when Jesus died on the cross, he died to pay our debt with God so we can freely have a relationship with him. Our sin is 'washed' away. The water symbolises what Jesus has done for us.
Drowning - sounds alarming! But the symbolism is of dying to the old life of living for ourselves (going into the water) and instead living the new life of living for Jesus (coming out of the water). The water symbolises our intention to live for him and not for ourselves.
There is nothing magical about the water! The service is a powerful picture of what a person has already received through Jesus. With this in mind, we run an evening with a meal to understand the implications for parents who want children baptised.
Weddings
If you would like to enquire about being married at Christ Church then please click here. We will then contact you and fill in an enquiry form with you, which will be passed on to a member of the clergy. Sometimes there is confusion about who can get married at Christ Church. There are two criteria:
Either
You must live in the parish of Christ Church
or
You must be a regular member of Christ Church and on the Electoral Roll of the church.
If you do not fit either category, then the only way we can legally marry you is if you attend Christ Church regularly for six months and attend our Marriage Preparation Course, which runs once every term.
We offer Marriage Preparation regularly through the year which has proved to be a valuable help to couples preparing for married life together.