Baptism

What is baptism?

Holy Baptism is the sacrament by which God adopts us as his children and makes us members of Christ’s body, the church, and inheritors of the kingdom of God. The baptismal policy at St. George’s derives its title from the congregational response to a question asked in the midst of the baptismal service: “Will all you who witness these vows do all in your power to support these persons in their life in Christ?”

 The vows of Baptism are a beautiful but demanding set of public promises. In the context of the service we remind ourselves that we cannot do the work of being Christian without God’s help and we also recognize that we cannot make these commitments without the help and support of one another. Implicit in these promises and commitments is the understanding that there are no loners in the Episcopal Church – since none of us has the faith we really need, every time we make a promise its collective – we are a “we” and not an “I” (what a relief!). In the context of baptism the congregation commits to the one receiving the Sacrament of new birth by answering the question, “Will you who witness these vows do all in your power to support this person in their life in Christ?” with the words, “We will!”

 Therefore, during the service of Baptism three critical things take place: A child of God gets baptized, the congregation renews their own baptismal vows and commits to help those being baptized realize their faith. These commitments are mutual, collective and made with sincerity and hope.

  Therefore, during the service of Baptism three critical things take place: A child of God gets baptized, the congregation renews their own baptismal vows and commits to help those being baptized realize their faith. These commitments are mutual, collective and made with sincerity and hope.

 In the Episcopal Church there are two “great Sacraments of the Gospel” – Holy Baptism and Holy Eucharist. Theologically speaking sacraments are outward and visible signs of inward and spiritual grace, given by Christ as a sure and certain means by which we receive that grace. As such sacraments are the free gift of God and for all intents and purposes the church doesn’t charge for them or deny them to anyone seeking them. We do however, try to be sure that the Sacraments are “understood,” to the degree possible, by those receiving them. Sometimes that means entering into a period of learning before the sacrament is pronounced (much like a young couple needing to attend pre-marital counseling before the church, in good faith, blesses a marriage at a worship service).

 For all of these reasons, it is our hope (and one could argue necessity) that adults who receive the sacrament of Baptism do so with the intention becoming members who worship regularly with us and that those sponsoring infants or young children do so with the intention of a commitment to age appropriate Christian education for those they sponsor. These commitments continue a Judeo-Christian tradition with roots in both the New Testament and the Hebrew scriptures. Regrettably, many baptisms take place in the church and then soon after the families disappear. In these cases the “baptism” is an “I” or “me” but not a “we.”

When do baptisms occur?

 Generally speaking there are four Sundays in the church year that we prefer to baptize in the church. The reasons for this are in part liturgical and in part practical (so people can plan accordingly).

 The dates for baptisms in 2011 are listed below. We do make exceptions for members with circumstances which prohibit the baptism from taking place on one of the appointed Sundays but we try to keep those at a minimum.

2012 Baptismal Sundays

January 8th - The Baptism of Our Lord
*April 7th - The Great Vigil of Easter
May 27th - The Day of Pentecost
November 4th - All Saints’ Sunday

Thank you for your inquiry about baptism at St. George’s Episcopal Church.  Please contact Rev. Jim Quigley if you’d like to talk more about this holy and life-changing sacrament – the body of Christ would like to adopt you!

*St. George’s, due to its relative size, does not always celebrate The Great Vigil of Easter