Baptisms
Baptism at St. Lawrence’s Church, Frodingham
We are delighted that you are considering taking this important step and want to offer you the best support that we can as you embark upon this spiritual journey with your child.
As a first step we ask you to attend a Baptism Preparation evening in the church. If you are interested in attending this meeting please can you contact the Church office on 01724 506031 to book a place before attending. This will last about half hour and will explore some of the images used in the baptism service and the responsibilities and commitments that the parents and godparents are asked to make. These are usually held on 2nd Wednesday in the month ,7.00p.m. in church. At the end of the presentation, you will be presented with a certificate of attendance. Should you wish to proceed with the baptism of your child you will need to bring this certificate to church office to arrange the date of the service. (Please note that the Administrator will be unable to book a date for the baptism without a certificate).
Should you need to postpone the baptism of your child at St. Lawrence’s, please let us know as soon as possible. We may then be able to offer the time you have booked to another family. Currently we have a 3-4 month waiting list for baptisms at St. Lawrence’s.
Godparents have an important role to play in supporting you as you try to bring up your child in the Christian faith and way of life. They will also be sponsoring your child for membership of the church. They only qualify to do this if they are over 18 yrs and have been baptized themselves. Please do check that they qualify. It is normal for a girl to have two godmothers and one godfather. A boy normally has two godfathers and one godmother. In both cases the minimum requirement is one godmother and one godfather. Usually, there should no more than four godparents.
On the morning of the baptism the service will begin at 12.30 p.m. please arrive 10-15 minutes before the service is due to start and come straight into the church. This will enable us to help you and your guests to find their seats and to start on time. It will also allow us to brief the godparents before we begin. Once the service starts do try to relax and enjoy it. We will guide every one through the service and help it all to happen.
If you live within the Parish of Frodingham the baptism of your child can take place in St. Lawrence’s Church. If you live outside the parish, do not regularly attend worship at St. Lawrence’s, or have not previously had a child baptised with us, then unfortunately we cannot hold your child's baptism. You should contact the clergy from the parish you live in.
Where the Baptism takes place
What to do on the day
Selecting Godparents
We do ask that you respect the tradition at St. Lawrence’s that photographs are not taken during an act of worship. There will, however be plenty of opportunities to take photos at the end of the service. A video recording of the service can be made discreetly from the back of church.
Photography and videos
It costs the Church approximately £120 to provide a baptism service and so we ask for a donation of £40 from each family to help towards this cost. If you are a tax payer it would help us if you could use one of our gift aid envelopes for this donation. Under the Gift Aid Scheme we can reclaim from the HM Revenue and Customs the tax you have already paid on the money at no extra cost to yourself. All you have to do is complete the details and add your signature to the form on the front of the envelope.
Cost
We do not see the baptism of your child as just another job, but rather as the beginning of a new relationship with your family.
Keeping in touch