Holy Baptism
Baptism is a recognition that a person is being called into a relationship God and Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit.
Baptism, at its most practical level, means gaining membership to the Church and is a welcoming into the Church community. There would be few Anglicans or Christians however, who would regard Baptism as only that.
Baptism is a sacrament where God is at work, an outward and visible sign of the inward and invisible action in which God engages, as the person being baptised makes promises in the way that they seek to live, and are then "washed" in the waters of baptism.
Who can be baptised?
Baptism is open to anyone who seeks to belong to the Anglican Church of Australia. Historically baptism has taken place when children are very young and not able to answer for themselves. When this happens, parents and godparents or sponsors make promises on the child's behalf. Up until the last few decades, this would have been the norm. There are now many people who have not been baptised as a child. We now see many more people asking for baptism as adults, and they answer for themselves.
What happens during baptism?
Baptism involves making promises before God about the way one chooses to live, stating your belief in God (the Apostles Creed), then being ritually washed by sprinkling or immersion with water which has been blessed, and having the sign of the cross made on you, sometimes with blessed oil. Members of the Church community welcome the newly baptised and prayers are said for him or her.
Baptism in the Anglican Church is normally accepted as suitable for membership in any of the mainstream or orthodox Christian traditions.
A new beginning
Baptism marks the beginning of a journey of faith for a person and the parents, godparents or sponsors together with the Church community guides and nurtures the person in the faith. This is an ongoing practice that included worshipping with the Church community, personal prayer, reading the Bible and engaging in study with others to understand the Christian faith for our times.
The normal practice within the Anglican Church when a person has been baptised as a child is to be Confirmed by the Bishop at a later time.
Please click here to download a copy of the Baptism Booking Form, or alternatively fill in the form below to submit an electronic copy.
Request for Baptism
If you wish to request a baptism in our parish, please fill in the form below: