HOLY BAPTISM at ALL SAINTS
Congratulations! We are pleased that you are thinking of baptism for your child, this page tries to answer some of the most frequently asked questions about baptism at All Saints. (Christening and baptism are the same thing, just different names for the same service.)		More information:  Coming for the First Time  Contact the Vicar
Can my child be baptised/christened? YES!! Everyone living in England has a right to baptism, no matter what their circumstances. (You can only be baptised once!) Can we have the service at All Saints? Baptism usually takes place in your local parish church, if you live in our area, or in the Basingstoke Team Parish, then your child can be baptised at All Saints. If you are not in All Saints area then we can put you in touch with your local church, if you would still like the baptism at All Saints then we will need to get permission from your local church before doing the baptism, this usually only happens if there is a strong link with All Saints or some other good reason. All Saints area is the south side of Winchester Rd/London Rd from Brighton Hill roundabout to the Black Dam roundabout; and as far out as the motorway. We include Black Dam, Fairfields, Sheppard Rd, Viables, Cranbourne and Kings Furlong south of Winchester Rd. (King of Wessex side.) But you can also come to All Saints if you live anywhere within the Basingstoke Team Parish which includes Brighton Hill, South Ham, Popley, and most of the area within the Ring Road but not Eastrop/Riverdene. Outside these areas we will usually put you in touch with your local church, unless you have close links with All Saints or there is some other reason. When will the service be? Baptisms are usually on a Sunday, they can either be part of our morning service at 10am, or afterwards at 12noon. Baptisms are usually booked 2 or 3 months in advance. What is the service like? The 12noon services last about half an hour, there may be one or two families there for baptism, the service is quite simple and informal. If you go for 10am then the baptism is part of our main service of the day, there will be hymns, communion, and a richer but more formal ceremony that lasts about an hour and fifteen minutes. Children are welcome at all our services. We will visit (or you come to us) before the service to talk in more detail about what happens. What about godparents? Godparents make promises with the parents, for the child and for themselves. Godparents should all have been baptised, and they should be adults. Godparents should be people who will be around for your child, people who might be able to help them as they grow and learn, especially to help them grow in faith. There is no magic number of godparents, once you have the right people, then that is the right number. Three or four is the average: two or six is fine if they are the right people. What if I don't usually go to church? At the baptism parents and godparents make promises, we will talk them through with you before the day. Parents bringing a child for baptism promise to bring the child up "as a Christian within the family of the church." You might want to ask yourself if this is the moment to deepen your own spiritual life. The decision on baptism is up to the parent; we will explain the promises, but we won't "test" you or judge you. Some parents simply want to give thanks for the birth of their child and celebrate the new life, there is a service for this called a "Thanksgiving". What is a "Thanksgiving Service"? Sometimes parents want to give thanks for the birth of their child, and to celebrate the new life, but do not want baptism, maybe because they cannot make the promises in good conscience, or so that their children can choose for themselves when they are older. In this case there is a service called "Thanksgiving for the Birth of a Child" that we can offer. If you want to know more about this, get in touch. What if we are not married, or are divorced, or a one parent family? We understand that families come in all shapes and sizes. We try not to judge or discriminate, we are honoured that you want to be with us on this important day in the life of your child. Can we take pictures/videos Yes. If you want us to pose for photos after the service, then that is fine too, just ask. How much does it cost? Baptism is free, God's gift to every human, we do not expect any payment. There will be a collection plate at the service, and if you want to make a donation to the work of All Saints then we welcome that. Coming to All Saints for the first time