Baptisms

We are delighted that you are looking at this page and if you have given birth recently congratulations too!

Baptism is about being welcomed into God’s family and, at St Matthew's, we will do all we can to support you. It marks the beginning of a lifetime journey of faith. Perhaps it's the approximately 10,000 babies and children who are baptised or christened (it’s the same thing) in the Church of England every month who make us think that it is just for the young, but we also welcome adults who want to be baptised.

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Baptisms usually take place on the 2nd and 4th Sundays of the month in our 10.45am service but our 9am congregation love a good baptism too! As a general rule we only carry out baptisms during our two main Sunday morning services and not at other times. There is no charge for a baptism but if anyone wants to make a donation to the church then they can contribute to the collection on the day.

Since everyone is entitled to be baptised in their parish church please check whether you are in our Parish at a 'A Church Near You' here and then choose the appropriate option below:

Living in the Parish

Since baptism is about welcoming your child into God’s family we think it is important that you have time to get to know us a little before you make the commitment which Baptism entails. So we invite you to come along to some services at St Matthew’s and to get to know the place and the people a bit and so begin to feel at home here. We usually have 2 services on Sunday mornings. The first at 9am is more formal and the second at 10.45am is more child-focused so you may feel that would be a good place to start - subject (of course) to those all-important sleep routines and lunchtime! Occasionally these service times change but that should be obvious from the website front page.

Later on, Rev Helen Hancock will usually visit you at home to watch a DVD about Baptism and to talk about what it all means and to answer any questions you may have. After that, if you are still keen to go ahead, we should be able to fix a date for the Baptism! Inevitably this takes a few months, really dictated by how often you are able to make it to church in the early stages.

Living outside the Parish

If you're not in the Parish (but still live close enough to maintain a connection with the church), then it is slightly more complicated (although not impossible) and the easiest way would be to chat that through some time.

Essentially, you need to become a regular member at St Matthew’s which means coming along regularly on Sunday mornings.

Otherwise the process then becomes the same so while you are still attending on Sundays, Rev Helen Hancock will then visit you at home to watch a DVD about Baptism and to talk about what it all means and to answer any questions you may have. After that, if you are still keen to go ahead, we can fix a date for the Baptism! Inevitably this takes a few months, really dictated by how often you are able to make it to church in the early stages.

If you live a long way from St Matthew's and want a baptism here for family or other reasons then this would have to be discussed carefully as our usual practice is for baptism carried out close to home.

If you would like to be in touch about Baptism at St Matthew's, then please fill in the form or better still why not come along to talk to us on a Sunday morning.

Contact Name
Email
Phone number
Additional Info/question
Name of child
Surname of child
Date of birth of child
Parent 1: First Name
Parent 1: Surname
Parent 1: Address
Parent 2: First Name
Parent 2: Surname
Parent 2: Address

By providing us with this information, you are agreeing that we may store your data and contact you in relation to your enquiry. Your privacy is important to us, we will not use any of the data which you have supplied to us via this form to contact you for any other purpose. You can read St Matthew’s standard Privacy Policy on our website or copies are available from the Parish Office.

By clicking "Send" and submitting this form I confirm that I would like St Matthew’s Church to contact me in relation to my enquiry (and am happy to be contacted via the methods for which I have supplied details).