Confirmation and Baptism - St Johns Wimborne · 2017-08-17 · Baptism is an opportunity for you, your family and friends to come together to celebrate and thank God for the new life

Confirmation and Baptism

St John’s Church, Wimborne

October 2017

Baptism and Confirmation at St John’s Church, Wimborne

Our next Baptism and Confirmation Service will be on

Sunday 15 October 2017 at 6.30pm with Bishop Rod Thomas

Candidates will be surrounded and supported by family and friends as well as the congregation of St

John’s Church. This will be a wonderful event and we are looking forward to it.

The Baptism will be by full immersion in a Baptism pool.

We would like to invite you to attend our preparation sessions.

The dates for these are:

Sunday 24 September - 4.30-5.30pm Sunday 1 October - 4.30-5.30pm Sunday 8 October - 4.30-5.30pm

Sunday 15 October - Rehearsal - 12.15-1pm

These will enable you to explore your faith further and will provide you with important preparation for

your Baptism and Confirmation.

Introduction

Congratulations on wanting to explore Baptism and Confirmation. This small booklet seeks to unpack some of the key teaching about Baptism and Confirmation in the Church of England. Confirmation gives the opportunity for those who have been baptised to express both their commitment to discipleship and their desire to belong to the Church of England here at St John’s. It is important to see Confirmation as a part of your journey of faith in Christ and not in isolation. When you speak to Peter he will invite you to attend a preparation course which is a good way to explore your faith with others who are thinking about Confirmation and is a safe place to ask any questions you have about God, Jesus and the journey of faith. Confirmation marks the point in the Christian journey at which you affirm for yourself the faith into which you have been baptised and your intention to live a life of committed discipleship. This affirmation is confirmed through prayer and the laying on of hands by the confirming Bishop. The Church also asks God to give you power through the Holy Spirit to enable you to live in the way of Jesus. Confirmation is administered by the Bishop and takes place during a special service where we make an adult profession of the Christian faith and receive strength from the Holy Spirit for a life of faithful commitment and loving service.

What if you have not been Christened or Baptised?

If you haven’t been christened or baptised, please speak to Peter and he can explain its significance to those who have turned to follow Christ. Each year many adults are baptised as an expression of their faith in Christ and a declaration that they are a disciple of Jesus, longing to continue growing in their faith. Confirmation in the Church of England marks the important moment when baptised members of the Church take public responsibility for their Baptismal status. It is important to note that admission to Communion will not be withheld from those who are not yet confirmed if they are baptised and committed to Christ. Rather, Confirmation is a stage of discipleship that encourages your growth as a Christian and full involvement within the Church of England.

Baptism: what’s it all about?

Baptism is an opportunity for you, your family and friends to come together to celebrate and thank God for the new life which God has given you. But Baptism is also a sacrament. This means an outward and visible sign of God’s love. When Jesus was baptised in the River Jordan he became aware of the special presence of God and the power of the Holy Spirit; it was a turning point in his life. After his death and resurrection Jesus commanded his followers to make new disciples and baptise them too. This has been done ever since by Christians throughout the world.

Why do we baptise?

Jesus told his disciples to baptise people who wanted to become Christians and join the church. Baptism involves both children and adults. The Bible tells us that whole households were being baptised and of course soon parents wanted their children to be baptised too. Here at St John’s we baptise both adults and children. There are other churches that don’t baptise children until they are old enough to understand everything for themselves, but we believe that parents can make promises to God on behalf of their children which can then be taken up when the person reaches adulthood. Baptism is not like an insurance policy that you take out to make sure that a person goes to heaven. God loves children and adults just as much now as after the baptism service. However, it does make sense to give children the very best start in life and for a parent to express their faith and trust in God. Equally, at an adult Baptism service it reminds them of all that God has promised to do for them and the Confirmation service gives them the opportunity to underline their commitment to Christ. What could be better than to have the encouragement from the very earliest days as a Christian to be open to God and to know of His love. In the Baptism service there is an opportunity for parents, or an adult who is being baptised, to stand up for themselves to share their faith and trust in Christ publically. In the Confirmation service the candidates echo the Baptismal promises made when they were baptised. This is a marvellously moving experience and one that we would warmly commend.

If you would like to think more about the Christian faith, then you may like to join one of our Christianity Explored courses which attract people of all ages and can lead to Confirmation. Please ask Peter for more details. The Baptismal Basis for Confirmation Ministry

The practice of Confirmation is not mentioned in Scripture directly; it flows out of Baptism. It is an implication of Baptism, a ministry to help Christians realise Baptism's gracious benefits. When the New Testament describes how God saves people, it relates salvation to the death and resurrection of Jesus, who died for our sins and was raised for our justification, gave his life as a ransom for many, and offered for all time a single sacrifice for sin. Jesus' whole life culminates in his death on the cross and God's raising him on the third day (Mark 10:45, Rom. 3:25, 4:25, 1 Cor. 15:3-5, 1 Tim. 2:6, Heb.10:12). Our relation to Jesus' death is all-important. In the Gospel of John, the cross is where Jesus draws all people to himself. In Matthew, Mark, and Luke, after predicting his own death, Jesus tells his followers they are to take up their own crosses. In his letters, the apostle Paul speaks of being joined to Christ's death, of dying with Christ, and of being crucified with Christ (John 12:32, Mark 8:34-35 and parallels, Rom. 6:4-8, Gal. 2:19). God's Spirit leads us in faith to trust this good news that God in Christ has established a right relationship with us. This is the heart of the New Testament's idea of salvation, and it gives shape to the Christian’s life. We are to die to sin, to our old way of living and our old nature. As we are united to Christ's death, so also we will

be joined to his resurrection. As a new creation we will be raised as Christ lives in us and we abide in him. Our new life is given already in faith and one day will be brought to completion in a new resurrection body (Rom. 1:16, 3:24,3-5, 6:1-11, 2 Cor. 5:19, Gal. 1:4, Eph. 4:22, John 15:4, 1 Cor. 15). These insights lead us to understand that Baptism is the first step that leads to Christian education and nurture, including Confirmation ministry. The local Church is the place to help baptised Christians live out their Baptism, to grow in knowledge, understanding, and faithfulness as servants of Christ. Baptised Christians need to be nurtured in lives of faith, hope, and love, grounded in the pattern of death and resurrection. Confirmation ministry does not complete Baptism, for Baptism is already complete through God's work of joining us to Jesus Christ and his body, the Church. Moreover, confirmation ministry does not compete with Baptism, because confirmation ministry does not save anyone. Nevertheless, it is a sign of commitment to continuing discipleship and belonging to St John’s as part of the Church of England. What is Confirmation?

Confirmation is a great event in the Christian life, when we publicly affirm our faith and are received as full communicant members of the Church by the Bishop in the presence of the congregation. It’s the time when, as adults, we repeat the promises made at our Baptism for ourselves. As candidates kneel, the Bishop prays that they may be "confirmed with the Holy Spirit". The words ‘confirm’ and ‘confirmation’ are used in the sense of their

original meaning, which relates to ‘giving strength’. So the Holy Spirit strengthens us, inspires us and encourages us to be able to live as people who consciously ‘turn to Christ’. The Bishop’s role in the service is to remind us that we are part of the Church of England. He comes as the one who exercises authority, helps to maintain unity, demonstrates the wider church’s care for the people of God and promotes the mission of the Church. This work I share with him each week at St John’s. The ‘laying-on of hands’ may seem a little strange, but it is an ancient symbol of prayer. In the Bible we find that the action of laying-on hands was used on special occasions, e.g. when praying for God's blessing, by the leaders of God's people in Old Testament times, by Jesus himself, and also by his disciples. We can see this in the following Bible references: Genesis 48:9-14; Deuteronomy 34:9; St. Mark 10:16, 16:18; Acts 6:6, 9:12, 19:1-6, 28:8: 2 Timothy 1:6. So, Confirmation is the service that gives the opportunity for the candidate to confirm their baptismal promises and is undertaken by the Bishop through the prayerful laying-on of hands for strengthening in the Christian life.

How do we prepare for Baptism and Confirmation?

There are a number of ways to prepare for Adult Baptism and Confirmation. There is a short course, where key areas, such as Baptism, Communion and life in the church, are covered. There is also the ‘Getting Going’ course that is run from time to time and is designed to help Christians get more out of their faith and develop their relationship with God. The aim is to help Christians know

God for their everyday lives. ‘Getting Going’ or the short course are a series of meetings where we discuss and explore the Christian faith and our relationship with God. The key book is the Bible and we also look at key aspects of the Christian life, like Baptism, Holy Communion and our role in the church family. These courses are relaxed and fun, covering God's love, grace and forgiveness. They include testimonies, prayerful reflection and the chance for your questions to be addressed. These courses will help people to know God in a way that is personal and to experience His power in their lives. They will help older Christians become more enthusiastic about their faith. What people say about these courses? "I understand my faith much better, now I can explain it to others." "It has given me a new passion for Scripture. It was fantastic." "I have a deeper understanding of God's love and forgiveness." "It helped me energize my Christian beliefs which I was losing." "I feel able to support my children better in their search for faith."

Confirmation preparation consists of 6 units: Introduction to the Christian faith The Church The place of prayer The Holy Spirit Baptism & Holy Communion Rehearsal for the service

Peter, our Vicar writes: 'Whichever route you chose, it is a great time to explore the Christian faith and ‘ink in’ your commitment to Christ. It will speak about your belonging fully to the local Church and being part of

the wider Church of England. Our aim at St John’s is to help you explore the Christian faith for the first time or to remind you of the essential truths of Christian living. Baptism and Confirmation preparation is like reading a book or watching TV: it is just another way we learn. When we watch a DVD or hear a talk, we can then talk about what we have seen and heard and what we think about it. It is always exciting to hear other people’s questions as they think about their faith. I hope that many who come to St John’s Church will come along to these meetings, if they have not yet been confirmed.”

Baptism and Confirmation at St John’s Church, Wimborne

Our next Baptism and Confirmation Service will be on

Sunday 15 October 2017 at 6.30pm with Bishop Rod Thomas

Candidates will be surrounded and supported by family and friends as well as the congregation of St John’s Church. This will be

a wonderful event and we are looking forward to it. The Baptism will be by full immersion in a Baptism pool.

Getting Ready

Some candidates will have grown up immersed in the ways and teaching of the Christian faith; for others, their encounter with Christ will have been a more recent or even sudden experience. The service in October will be for both adults and older teenagers from St John’s who wish to be confirmed, and we may be joined by candidates from other local churches and parishes. Confirmation is both a next step and a new beginning for those who positively wish to embrace a deeper sense of belonging and commitment to God and to the Christian family.

We would like to invite you to attend our preparation sessions. The dates for these are:

Sunday 24 September - 4.30-5.30pm Sunday 1 October - 4.30-5.30pm Sunday 8 October - 4.30-5.30pm

Sunday 15 October - Rehearsal - 12.15-1pm

These will enable you to explore your faith further and will provide you with important preparation for your Baptism and

Confirmation.

If you would like to think about confirming your faith at our Baptism and Confirmation Service in October please fill in your details below. Please also speak to Peter Breckwoldt or Andy Acheson if you would like to know more. I am considering being Baptised and/or Confirmed on 15 October: Name ................................................................................ Address ............................................................................. ........................................................................................... Phone number .................................................................. Email address .................................................................... Signature ........................................................................... Date ................................................................................... Please return this completed form to the Church Office as soon as possible.