Having your child baptised

Thank you for your interest in having your child baptised in our parish. Here we share some information so that you can fill out the Application Form and help us to make your child’s baptism a meaningful event in his/her life.

When you make contact with us, we will let you know if the date you have in mind for your child's baptism is available.  Once you have submitted the below Application Form, we will process it and return it to you confirming the arrangements.  Only at that time is the date of your child's baptism secure.  

What is Baptism?

Baptism is the mark of becoming a member of the church. It is often also the first public ceremony in a young child’s life and marks their membership not only of the Christian faith, but of the local community.

In the service we remind ourselves of what Christians believe and then welcome a new member by baptising them (with water) and christening them (with oil). These are two symbols of new life that we understand comes from following Christ in our daily lives.  At the end of the service the newly baptised person is given a lighted candle as a sign that they go out of the church building and into the world as a sign of God’s love for creation.

When baptisms normally take place

Baptisms normally take place during the morning service, at one of the churches in this benefice, in accordance to the service rota – however at busy times, the incumbent (vicar) may also offer a Baptism later on a Sunday afternoon.  In the case of St Helen's church Swinhope, our normal service time is 3pm and so the time of the baptism service would need to be agreed with the incumbent.

Godparents

A child being baptised must have at least two godparents (though normally people choose to have three people as godparents). The role of the godparent is to take an ongoing interest in the growth and development of the child – in particular encouraging them morally and spiritually. For this reason it is important that they have themselves been baptised (and preferably also confirmed).

To make a booking

Please download the form and return it to: [email protected]

The Deanery Office, The Rectory, Peppin Lane, Fotherby, Louth LN11 0UW.

If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to call us on 01507 610247 or email to: [email protected]