At the Anglican Parish of Jimboomba we offer two services
which recognize the blessing from God that your child is. These services are Baptism
and Thanksgiving for the Gift of a Child.
Thanksgiving for the Gift of a Child, is a simple service which does what its name suggests– it offers a family the opportunity to gather and formally give thanks to God for the blessing a child is, and also pray Gods blessing for the child and their future. In this service parents commit themselves to loving each other and working together for the nurture of their baby. This service is a simple and informal service conducted by one of the ministers from the parish and can be held at the church or an other convenient place at a time which is agreed between you and the minister. There are no godparents for this service but if there are special friends who can encourage you as you raise your child, there will be opportunity for them to support you. There is no cost for this service, but if you would like to make a donation which expresses your thanks to God that would be fine.
Baptism, sometimes called Christening is the second service we offer. First of all some things that Baptism is not:
† Baptism is not a naming ceremony. A person is officially named when their birth is registered.
† Baptism is not an insurance policy for the future. Sometimes people think that a child is more especially loved by God if they are baptized, or protected by God more if they are baptized. This is not true. God loves all people and especially children. Being baptized doesn’t make God love children more, he loves them 100% no matter what.
† Baptism is not something to satisfy grandparents. Baptism involves some very significant commitments and your child should be baptized only if you are happy to make and carry through those commitments.
And now, what Baptism is:
† Baptism is the way we become members of the Christian church
† Baptism is the way God adopts us as his children
† Baptism is the way that God gives us the gifts of eternal life and the Holy Spirit
† Baptism is the way we begin our life of knowing, loving and serving God.
Parents and godparents, but especially parents have a very important role in the baptism service, because parents make certain commitments to God as part of the baptism service.
These are:
† To pray for your child
† To help your child to learn about God and come to know God
† To help your child be a worshipping Christian and an active member of the church.
In order to fulfil these commitments you will need to come regularly to church and bring your child too. You will be an active part of your church. This is important because the only way your child will grow up really knowing the God who loves them is if you not only teach with your words but your actions too. In baptism your child is made a member of the church so they need to be an active part of it-right from the start. This doesn’t mean just bringing your child to Sunday School when they are older, it means bringing them with you from the very start.
The parish is ready to help you with this. We love having children in church, no matter what age. The church is carpeted and has padded seats (for everyone’s comfort). We have activity sheets for children who are old enough to colour in and we have a special children's talk at the 8:30am Sunday service at St James.
Baptism is a wonderful gift from God, but it does involve a major ongoing commitment and its not where everybody is at. We hope you will decide to have your baby baptized, but if you are not ready to carry through these commitments its better not to make them, and instead have the Thanksgiving service for your child. The baptism can always happen at anytime when you are ready.
Some more information about Baptism
Baptism happens in one of the main church services of the parish. These are every Sunday morning at St James at 8:30am or on the second Sunday of the month at St John’s Mundoolun 10:30am. Baptism only happens once a month, so you need to find out when the next baptism Sunday will be, there is often a three to six month wait as we are often booked ahead of time, but call to find out when the next available Sunday is.
There is no cost for baptism but if you would like to make a donation to thank God for the blessing of your child, that would be fine.
In baptism parents and godparents make statements about their faith and make commitments on behalf of their child or godchild. It is vital therefore for at least one of the parents to be a baptized member (preferably confirmed member) of the Christian Faith, and for all the godparents to be baptized members . If parents are not baptized or of they are baptized but not confirmed we can help that to happen.
On choosing godparents for your child, try to bear in mind that they will be promising to pray for their godchild and encourage their godchild to grow up as a regularly worshipping member of the church. The best way for this to happen is for the godparents to be people who go to church regularly. Remember, what children see us doing is more significant than what we say.
What now?
After you have thought about what you would like to do for your child please contact us if you would like to proceed either with Thanksgiving for the Birth of a Child, or Baptism we’ll make the booking then.
For more information or to organize an interview please call; Fr Dan Talbot 0409 898 507