For more
information on baptism, please speak the
our minister The
Reverend Dr. Nick Athanasiadis.
Baptism is a gift from God.
There is nothing that we can do to earn,
deserve, or purchase baptism. It is first
of all a sign that God, in Christ, has
done all that is necessary to redeem us.
The mystery of faith is that God’s
act of self-giving is offered to us
freely, long before we begin to
recognize, want, or understand it.
Baptism is initiation into
the household of God; a new family
relationship is formed. The promise of
God’s faithfulness supports us even
while we are infants in the faith. Our
age at baptism is not significant.
Whether we are baptised as infants or
adults, we are infants in the faith,
called to grow and mature into full
stature with Christ.
In baptism we acknowledge
our union with Christ in his death and
resurrection. Baptism is a recognition
that who we are now is not who we are
meant to be. Sin has power over us, we
naturally seek to make our life apart
from the one who created us. We thus need
the deep cleansing and renewal that only
God can effect in us. Baptism is a
recognition that in Christ we are
cleansed, forgiven, healed, reborn.
In baptism we are joined to
the body of Christ, the church. We are
anointed with the Spirit and appointed to
serve Christ and one another in the world.
The implications of baptism for a life of
discipleship should not be minimized or
sentimentalized. Baptism is the beginning
of a new life in the world where ethical,
social, and political decisions are made
in the light of our response to God in
Christ. Baptism is not a protection from
the world but an initiation into the love
and justice by which God seeks to redeem
the world.
Baptism is a public act, and
takes place as part of the regular
service of worship.
It is required that at least
one parent be baptised and a professing
member
of the Christian church. Usually
membership is within the church in which
the baby is baptised. As baptism is a
reception of the baby into the fellowship
of a church community, that fellowship is
enacted through the prayer of the
congregation and encouragement of the
child. It is not possible to fulfil this
responsibility when parents and children
are not an active part of the local faith
community.
Within the Presbyterian
Church in Canada we practice both adult
and infant
baptism. In other words, there is no age
limit.
All who profess Jesus Christ
as Lord and Saviour may be baptised.
Speak to the minister, who will engage in
greater detail the material on baptism
found on this website. Baptism is a
public act. This means that there are
those from the community of faith who
will witness the baptism and affirm and
welcome the newly baptised person in
Christ's name.
The invitation announces
briefly the purpose of baptism and
invites all present to consider the
benefits of the sacrament, giving thanks
for their own gift of baptism.
An elder of the congregation
accompanies those to be baptised to the
baptismal font.
The renunciations
and affirmations, adapted from an
ancient liturgy, remind all participants
that the repentance required at baptism,
as in the whole of the Christian journey,
is both a turning away from evil and a
turning to Christ. It is an act which is
both individual and communal.
The use of water in the name
of the triune God is the central and
essential act in the sacrament of baptism.
Water is poured or sprinkled to signify
the washing away of sin and the start of
new life in Christ. This means that we do
not live our life as we see fit. It means
that we allow God to live and move in our
lives.
Baptism is celebrated in the
“the name of the Father, and of the
Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew
28:19).
Only the given or Christian
names are used in the act of baptising.
The family name is not used. The naming
of God and the personal name of the
baptised point to the covenant that is
established between God and each person
who is received into the community of the
new covenant.
The one baptised is blessed
by the minister in God’s name.
“May the Spirit of God
dwell in you and uphold you, now and
forever. AMEN.”
The Aaronic Blessing:
- “The LORD bless you and keep
you;
- the LORD make his face to shine
upon you, and be gracious to you;
- the LORD lift up his countenance
upon you, and give you peace”
- (Numbers 6:24-26).
The newly baptised persons
are declared to be a children of God and
disciples of Christ.
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