Baptism

Baptism is a time of great joy for the individuals being baptized, their loved ones and the church community as a whole.  Baptism celebrates God’s amazing love for each one of us.  Because we believe that God’s love for us doesn’t depend on our ability to understand it or choose it, we baptize people of any age including infants if their parents or guardians so desire.

Baptism is not a requirement for God’s love. We believe people who die without baptism are in no way condemned, lost, or damned.  Rather we believe that baptism is a way of claiming for ourselves a love that surrounds us always.  Remembering our own baptisms and sharing in the baptism of others helps us to pay attention to the divine love in which we live and move and have our being.  It reminds us that we are each one of us a beloved child of God.

Baptism is a time to celebrate the marvelous way that God is revealed to us in the life of the person(s) being baptized.  To this end, we try to personalize the baptism service with photos of the person(s) being baptized and their families.

Baptism is also the way that we welcome new members into our church.  As such, the congregation is an important part of the baptism service and pledges their support and care to the person being baptized as well as his or her family.  Consequently, baptism takes place on Sunday mornings during our regular worship service except in exceptional circumstances.  We designate Baptism Sundays approximately four times per year.

Baptism in the United Church is recognized by all denominations of the Christian church that practice infant baptism. Similarly, if people have already been baptized in another church, the United Church recognizes their baptism and welcomes them to become members of the United Church.

If you are welcoming a child into your home through birth or adoption or have come to a place in your faith journey where you are thinking baptism for yourself if you have not already been baptized (or re-affirmation of baptismal faith if you were previously baptized), we would love to talk with you about what that might look like.