Baptism & Thanksgiving
As Methodists, we believe baptism marks the beginning of an ongoing journey with God. When someone is baptised, they are received into God’s church – God’s family.
In baptism we respond to, and celebrate, God’s unconditional love – a forgiving and renewing love for all people.
To enquire about baptism, please contact our minister.
(Email: dan.balsdon@methodist.org.uk or use our Contact page)
Infant baptism / Christenings
When a baby or young child who cannot answer for themselves is baptised, we hold a service of infant baptism (sometimes also known as a Christening). In this service, we give God thanks for the life of the child, and welcome them into God’s family – celebrating the fact that God’s love and grace for us is so big that he welcomes us even if, like a baby, we cannot understand it.
Thanksgiving
An alternative service to infant baptism is a service of thanksgiving (sometimes also called a dedication). This service celebrates the gift of a child and dedicates them to God – but is not a baptism. This then means the child can make their own decision about baptism when they are older.
Adult baptism / baptism of older children
When an adult, or a child who can answer for themselves is baptised, they publicly celebrate and confess their relationship with God, and their commitment to live as a disciple of Jesus. This could be in the church with a small amount of water, or it could be by full immersion (e.g. in the sea, river or a pool).
FAQs
When could it be?
Baptism is a ceremony which welcomes someone into the family of God. Therefore we usually try to hold baptisms within our Sunday worship when the family of God at LMC are all present. However we can hold baptisms at other times of the day/week and would invite the LMC congregation along.
Can we choose songs?
Of course! Our minister would usually explore this with you when you meet to see if you’d like to choose some songs or other content for the service. But don’t worry –there is no pressure to choose songs if you don’t want to.
What does it cost?
There are no fees for holding a baptism. We believe God’s grace is freely available to all – so there’s no cost!
During worship we usually have an opportunity to give to the work of God, and so if you wanted to make a donation to LMC, you can do so in this way.
I was baptised/christened as a baby/child, can I be baptised again?
The Methodist Church is among many denominations that believe there is one Baptism. We therefore do not believe baptism is repeatable. We believe that regardless of age, once baptised you are welcomed into God’s family.
However we recognise that there can be times where someone feels a call to rededicate or reaffirm their past baptism. Some Methodists find this happens for them within the annual covenant service, or through being received into Membership. For others they decide on a service of reaffirmation of baptismal faith with water. We encourage a conversation with our minister to explore this.