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The Sacrament of Holy Baptism
The Sacrament of Holy Baptism is the action by which an individual becomes a full member of the Christian community, the church. Baptism, properly understood, is not an isolated ritual that a person undergoes at some point in his or her life, but rather is a first step on a life long journey that leads deeper and deeper into the love of God. Baptism is the beginning of a relationship between a person and Jesus Christ, the Savior and Lord of the Church.In the early Church, there was a long period of preparation for candidates desiring to be baptized which included instruction in the basic beliefs and practices of the Christian community. In most cases only adults were baptized and the ceremony was a very large and very public celebration held once a year.
At St. Michael’s Church we believe that the Sacrament of Holy Baptism is one of the most exciting, important and joyful events that can occur in a person’s life. We take with great seriousness the responsibility we have together as a parish community to support and uphold each person baptized in this parish as he or she grows in the Christian faith and life. When the person being baptized is an infant or young child, we believe it is important that we encourage that child’s parents as they strive to live out the promises they make at the child’s baptism as well as the promises they made at their own baptism.
So that we can be faithful in our obligation to those coming to St. Michael’s for baptism and so that we can be supportive to their families over the years, we use the following guidelines regarding Holy Baptism:
1) We assume that persons seeking baptism, whether for themselves or for their children, have been actively and regularly involved in the ongoing worship life of St. Michael’s and plan to continue that involvement.
2) We feel strongly that the church needs to provide a time of basic preparation for those seeking baptism. When parents are seeking baptism for a child, some preparation is important for those parents. For adult candidates, specific arrangements are made with the Rector. We ask the parents who are presenting their children for baptism to schedule a time for a home visit by the Rector, which should be scheduled in advance of the Sundays during the year when baptisms will be performed.
3) We understand the celebration of Baptism to be a festive and corporate event and we therefore schedule four times during the year when baptisms are performed. Three of these are on Sunday morning at the 10:00 AM service. The Great Vigil of Easter is at 7:30 PM on Easter Eve.
The 2009 schedule of services of Baptism are as follows:
January 11, 2009 The Feast of Jesus' Baptism
April 11, 2009 The Great Vigil of Easter
May 31, 2009 Pentecost
November 1, 2009 All Saints' Sunday
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