Baptisms

Baptism (also called Christenings for infants)
When someone gets baptised, the symbolism of water is there to emphasise that when our life is opened to Jesus, we get flooded and refreshed by the peaceful, transforming love of God and are inviting God’s Spirit to abide in our lives. There is always a dynamic of faith responding to Jesus’ invitation to turn to God afresh (voiced by the person getting baptised or their adults on their behalf) and so the baptism is a declaration that God has a gift of new life that we can reach out to receive.

Within our churches, we have various approaches to a baptism service: some followers of Jesus are baptized by immersion (such as in the sea at Oxwich), and others are sprinkled with water (often at the font in church). Some people are baptized as adults and others as infants where the family take on the responsibility to live out the Christian faith as the child grows. In all cases, the meaning of baptism is about participating in this ancient biblical pattern of going through the waters of death and following Jesus out the other side and into the new creation.

Please get in touch with one of the vicars in Gower Ministry Area to discuss baptism and preparation. If there is to be a service within a church building, then we would normally hold this as part of our regular Sunday services as the person being baptised is joining the world-wide fellowship of Christian believers. There is no charge for baptisms.

Extra information on Christenings:
The Church in Wales believes that children are a precious gift from God. Your child is special, and we hope that their christening, or baptism as it’s sometimes called, will prove to be the start of an amazing journey with him.

Babies and very young children are too young to make this commitment for themselves, so parents or guardians, along with their godparents, make that
declaration of commitment to the Christian faith for them.

Parents, guardians and godparents who bring children to be christened are themselves asked to commit to sharing that special journey of faith with them, which means that they are expected to have been baptised themselves. They will be asked to commit to pray for their child, and to help them learn more about Jesus and the Christian faith. They will also commit to help them navigate their way through life against a backdrop of faith, hope, and love, and to help them become part of the wider church family. We would normally expect there to be up to three adults
nominated to act as godparents.

You may like to consider a Thanksgiving service for your child, especially if it is a
challenge to find people to act as godparents who themselves have been baptised.

Please contact us if you would like further information or advice. The relevant contacts are: