The Process of Baptism

As babies are too young to take vows the parents and God parents do it for them. Their parents and God parents vow to bring their child up in a Christian environment. It starts off with the welcome. The priest asks the parents and God parents if they will bring up their child as a Christian. He reminds them of their responsibilities as Parents and God parents.

The first rite I will describe is baptism. When a person is baptised it is believed that it is their welcome into the Christian church. Holy water is either put onto the person’s forehead or they are totally covered in water. This is a rite of passage because it is believed to be a very special as god is accepting them into the church. Infant baptisms in the Roman Catholic church take place during mass so the whole congregation of the church can welcome the child into the Christian faith.

To this the priest replies 'God has received you by baptism into his church.' In an Anglican service, the congregation will now say 'We welcome you into the Lord's family. We are members together of the body of Christ; we are children of the same heavenly Father; we are inheritors together of the Kingdom of God. We welcome you.' Othe... ... middle of paper ... ...nity.

The priest welcomed the baby into the family of God, by putting the sign of cross on her forehead and inviting parents and godparents to do likewise. The sign of the cross is a symbol the child belongs to God. We then entered the chapel and moved to the left seating area where we heard the celebration of the word of God. We were reminded that reading and preaching the word of God would stimulate our faith. The readings and psalm stressed the importance of baptism as a prerequisite for life and eternal life.

Infant baptism Welcome into the Christian community At the entrance of the church the priest welcomes the child and parents. "you are accepting the responsibility of training him to the practice of the faith. It will be your duty to bring him up to keep God's Commandments." The sign of the cross is traced on the child's forehead (symbol of belonging to God). "I will now trace the Sign of the Cross on your forehead and invite your parents and god-parents to do the same" A celebration of the Word of God Readings take place from scriptures, showing the importance of Baptism.

So parents who belong to a church want their children also to be part of the church. They want their children to work and to build up the church community in their own parish. But to become part of the church the children must be baptized. Through baptism people become part of the church, become part of God's family and are called to follow Christ. Baptism is the first sacrament of many, but if you are not baptized you may not receive the other sacraments.

3. Prayers - Prayers that are designed to be read before and after Communion should be read so that you can be in the proper attitude for the reception of Communion. 4. Repentance - You should approach Jesus with a plea for mercy and forgiveness because it is only faith and repentan... ... middle of paper ... ...e church is doing Sunday schools and family services so that more of the youth can be shown Christ's influence at an early age. Or to appeal to the younger generation's music like brining in electric guitars to church and this I believe is defiantly important to make kids more participant in church today.

In the Catholic service the priest then makes the sign of the cross over the baby's head and the parents trace the sign of the cross to signify that this baby is now a member of the Christian church. Prayers are then offered for the baby and the family, and the family can either select some prayers or write some themselves. Then it is asked that the saints in heaven also pray for the baby so that all will bless it. To prepare for the actual baptism the priest first anoints the baby with the Oil of Baptism as a sign of Christ's strengthening power and the priest asks that the baby be delivered from all evil. Then the water is blessed and t... ... middle of paper ... ... into the Christian faith either because of their partner or because of the ceremony.

He asks what name they give their child and what they want of the church for their child, they reply “Baptism”. He asks the god- parents if they agree to help the parents in their duty as Christian parents. And then traces the sign of the cross on the child’s forehead: the parents and god- parents do the same. This is a sign of ownership and that the child now belongs to God and it is also a sign of the saving power of the crucifixion of Jesus. The celebration of the word of God includes a number of readings that stress the importance of this sacrament.

This symbolises that the child is being welcomed into the church, as a new member. The key theme at this point is entry, this is emphasised by the naming of the child, and a new name is symbolic of a new role. The whole family starts at the door then the priest calls them up to the altar, again showing that the priest is welcoming this new child into the church. The child takes on a new Christian role and inseparable from this theme are the parents and God. They need to ensure the development of the new faith: this is made clear by the words spoken by the priest, along with the symbol of the cross, which suggests protection.