The gift of a child
CONGRATULATIONS!
The arrival of some children is carefully planned; others come as a surprise. But it is always a wonderful privilege, and a great responsibility, to care for a young child. So it’s very natural to want to give thanks to God for one of the greatest gifts He has ever given you, and to ask for His blessing on your child and your family. We will be delighted to arrange a service for your child. If your child is older than 3 you will need to have a more detailed conversation with the Vicar about the service.
Whether your child has been born to you, or whether you have recently adopted, we are here to help you make the right Christian choices for your child.
What next?
Parents are now able to choose the most appropriate service to mark the arrival of a new life. These are;
- Service of thanksgiving for the gift of a child
- Baptism
First things first…….COMING TO CHURCH
We strongly encourage you to come as a family to St James’ or St Saviour’s, as often as you can over the next weeks. Baptisms are nearly always part of our ordinary Sunday services (on the fourth Sunday of the month), and you will very likely see one in action and understand it more fully. In addition, many families start coming to Church after the birth of a child because they know they will need God’s help in caring for their new member. If you are considering baptism—which is membership of the Christian Church—you should be prepared to make a commitment in line with the baptism promises you will be required to make in the service. In order that we might know that you are taking your commitment seriously, we want to welcome you to worship for at least THREE Sundays before you make an application for Baptism.
If it is a Thanksgiving for the gift of a child which you would like, this service can be taken at very short notice, there is no preparation or course to follow, and there are no promises to make.
Coming to church for several weeks may also help you to decide whether you want to make the knowledge of Christ’s love part of your family life or not.
Worship times
The Service of Thanksgiving:
Thanksgivings can take place at a wide range of times and places, and at short notice. They are very happy occasions and the ceremony is quite brief. This service is an appropriate Christian celebration, but one which does not require any commitment to the Christian faith. Baptism could, of course, follow on some time after a Thanksgiving.
WHAT HAPPENS?
There are three principal ingredients in a Thanksgiving Service:
1. Thanking God.
As the name suggests, the whole purpose of the service is to say a heartfelt thank you to God for His wonderful gift to you of your child. The Vicar will say these prayers on your behalf.
2. Praying for your family
We will pray for your child, for any other children you may already have and especially for you as parents, in your responsibility for bringing up this child.
3. Receiving a book
You will be given a book about the Christian faith. This is as a permanent reminder of the Thanksgiving Service for you yourselves to read as soon as possible, to understand Christ and his teaching more fully and for you to share with your child in a few years time, when (s)he is old enough to understand.
WHO COMES?
We encourage you to invite as many people as you like to the Thanksgiving Service: Grandparents, Family Members, Neighbours and Friends. Often people have a big party afterwards.
OTHER DETAILS
The child can of course come dressed entirely as you like. Some parents bring their child in special clothes for the ceremony; others bring them in their ordinary clothes. There is no fee for a Thanksgiving Service.
WHY A THANKSGIVING SERVICE INSTEAD OF A BAPTISM?
There are probably 3 main reasons why an increasing number of families choose the option of a Thanksgiving Service:
1. They simply want to give thanks to God for their child. This is their main wish and they have no desire to do anything more.
2. They are making no promises. In the Baptism Service parents make some very serious promises and commitments (see next two pages); there are no promises made when parents opt for a Thanksgiving alone.
3. They would prefer their child to experience baptism when (s)he is older. Parents may still pray with their child, read them Bible stories and tell them about Jesus. But the child will experience being baptised, and later be able to remember it. All sorts of people are now choosing this option.
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