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Baptisms & Christenings


Angie

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My sister-in-law is making plans for our neice's baptism next month and the question was brought up about when we will be able to baptize our next child. I was stumped. I didn't know the answer to that question. Are you able to bapitize after placement or do you have to wait until you finalize? I know this may sound a little silly but I just wasn't sure. Anybody have any ideas??? The things we think about while we are parents-in-waiting!!! If there is anyone else out there that may have a question they think is silly please share. I am sure that there is at least one couple in the parents-in-waiting group that has had the same question but hasn't asked it yet!

Angie

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Angie,

We dedicated (baptized) Miller when he was 4 months old and we finalized when he was 9 months. With Delaney we had her finalization on friday and her dedication on sunday of the same weekend, she was 6 months old.

I think it is a personal choice and it depends on the case. If you have a legal risk you might want to wait until it is no longer legal risk. With Delaney it was in no way a legal risk but our church only does dedications certian times and that weekend just happened to be our finalization weekend. Her birthmom came for her dedication it was very nice. I will look around but there is somewhere on the forum about this...

> The Abrazo Forum > Homestead > Abrazo's Chapel Potluck> Spiritual Enrichment

Hope this helped biggrin.gif

Edited by Doug_and_Jennifer
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Angie,

I suppose it depends on both your family tradition and your religious views. If you believe in infant baptism because you believe that the child will be eternally lost without baptism then you should likely not wait. Unless, there is a problem with the church records and the infant's official name. That question I don't know about. I suppose you would give the name that will eventually appear on the child's birth certificate. Not sure how that works.

We don't believe in infant baptism so it wasn't a problem for us. We instead, had a child dedication ceremony (where the adults in the child's live promise to raise up the child with a knowledge of their Lord and Savior in preparation for their eventual acceptance of salvation and baptism) in our home and planned it for when our family members would be able to travel to south texas to be present.

Whatever you do, make sure it is what you are most comfortable with.

pkk

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My sister-in-law is making plans for our neice's baptism next month and the question was brought up about when we will be able to baptize our next child.  I was stumped.  I didn't know the answer to that question.  Are you able to bapitize after placement or do you have to wait until you finalize?  I know this may sound a little silly but I just wasn't sure.  Anybody have any ideas???  The things we think about while we are parents-in-waiting!!!  If there is anyone else out there that may have a question they think is silly please share.  I am sure that there is at least one couple in the parents-in-waiting group that has had the same question but hasn't asked it yet!

Angie

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Angie,

We had a similar dilemma. We are Roman Catholic, and in our archdiocese the rule is that a copy of the child's State Birth Certificate must be provided before baptism can be performed, which would mean in that case that you'd have to wait until after finalization. We did have Catherine baptized at 3 months old, however, because that is the only time our out of town family members could be present. Our priest agreed to go ahead with the baptism ceremony, but would not issue the certificate of baptism until after we turned in a copy of the state birth certificate (which we received after finalization.)

His concern was whether or not our adoption would be contested. In the past they had a situation where they proceeded with a baptism, only to have the adoption contested or for some reason never finalized.

I recommend you speak to your pastor to find out what the requirements are for your church/denomination.

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Hey Angie - we too are Catholic and were able to baptize Matthew at 8 weeks. There were no special requests from our priest although, we did wait until we cleared the legal risk issues. Sounds like the best advise is to speak to your priest and see how they want to handle. Good luck!

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Hi,

I'm from Cloud Nine and in Angie's orientation group. Our belief is that baptism is a sign and seal of being a child of God. I would like to baptize the baby in the first 3 months. My mom and dad baptized all 5 of their children shortly after birth. My mom believed that if anything would have happened to us, that we would be sealed by the grace of God. It's more like a symbolic thing. Like someone else said, I guess it depends on your personal beliefs and how the church would handle it.

Claudia rolleyes.gif

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Angie,

We baptized our first son George between placement and finalization, though it was the weekend before he turned one. George was placed with us at 8.5 months, I did not want to immediatley have him baptized because I was not sure how his birthmother would take that, and we wanted her there for it. We were going to have him baptized on his 1st birthday, but my cousin who was to perform the ceremony was not avaiable, so we did it the weekend before so that he could be there, and all of our family was in town as well. We had his 1st birthday party on saturday adn baptism on sunday, it was a full weekend. I will not do that again.

I am thinking of having Garen baptized this summer, his birthmother is planning on coming to visit and I would like her to be here for it. All of our family would like to be here as well, so I have no clue what will happen. I will think about that next month.

Hope this helps.

Beth

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  • 9 months later...

Good news! In case you missed it, the 1/9/06 issue of Time magazine, included an Essay feature written by David Van Biema, entitled "Life After Limbo", reporting on an important and pending shift in Roman Catholic beliefs concerning baptism.

For centuries, Catholic theology taught that babies who died prior to being baptized could not go to heaven, but instead, went permanently to a place called "limbo" where they could not enjoy the actual presence of God (nor their parents, once deceased) but would remain happy. This caused enormous grief and guilt for parents whose newborns passed on too soon to be christened, adding further sorrow to their loss.

Although this theory had been in place since the Middle Ages, Pope Benedict XVI has previously written that it was not actually a church doctrine, but merely a "theological hypothesis" which he identified as "problematic." Consequently, the new pontiff is expected to approve a document recognizing the right of unbaptized babies to be fully welcomed into heaven upon their demise.

Because as the Rev. James Martin was quoted saying in the Times Essay: "My idea of God is not a God who would condemn a baby to an imperfect life for eternity." May the official revision come out soon... heaven knows, it's long overdue.

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  • 1 month later...

Kudos to the Presbyterian Church, U.S.A.! Its new Geneva Press publication, entitled "The Baptism of Your Child: A Book for Presbyterian Families" by Carol A. Wehrheim, cites helpful and adoption-friendly suggestions for congregations such as "giving a first-year of life calendar when (a) child (is) born or adopted" and assigning a deacon to help provide nurture and care for families "when the pregnancy or pending adoption is known."

"...Baptism symbolizes becoming part of another family, the family of God. The child now has the name "Christian" as well. The baptized child has been adopted into the covenant family of the church. And that is not only your congregation, or your denomination, but the church universal. Baptism is not into a denomination but into the church of Jesus Christ. Emphasizing the adoption into the family of God does not mean you relinquish your parental responsibilities for nurturing your child in the faith. However, it does mean that the congregation has important responsibilities, too, as you can see when you read the promises made by (each) congregation at a baptism." (pg 21)

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  • 5 months later...

Some absolutely beautiful photos of Tasia's dedication were just posted in the Bill & Susan's album on the Gallery.

What a stunning depiction of the Biblical promise found in Galations 4:5-7 (The Message):

"Thus we have been set free to experience our rightful heritage. You can tell for sure that you are now fully adopted as his own children because God sent the Spirit of his Son into our lives crying out, "Papa! Father!" Doesn't that privilege of intimate conversation with God make it plain that you are not a stranger, but a family member, God's own child? And if you are a child, you're also an heir, with complete access to the inheritance."

The baptism/christening of our babies is the thank-you note we write to God on our hearts and those of our children. It's not just an outdated ritual-- it is the acknowledgement of all parents, whether by birth or adoption, that every child is a gift from God, and how we raise that child and the beliefs we instill in him/her is our gift to God.

Bill and Susan, thank you for sharing such a remarkable visual reminder of the importance of this sacred act! God bless you and your daughter, and her sister and her family, and all the Abrazofolk who share the faith and pass it along to their beloved children.

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Thank you so much Elizabeth for that wonderful tribute to baptism/christening! The day was very special for us and extremely moving to watch Tasia throughout each step of the ceremony.

I posted a brief write-up about the event on Good Buddies, but thougt that I would post it here too!

I have a posted the "photo story" of Tasia's baptism on the Gallery. As you can see, Greek baptisms are complex affairs and involve complete submersion three times. I have included a few of the highlights and hopefully they will give you a flavor for the event.

Just briefly, the ceremony started in the back of the santuary and involved the priest, Tasia and her godparents (Bill's cousins from Greece). She is wearing the outfit that the godparents bought her and that she wore when she came to the church (they wanted something chic -- hence the mini-skirt!). At the back of the church, the priest says prayers with Tasia, the godparents spit three times to send away the evil spirits (you may remember this from the wedding ceremony in My Big Fat Greek Wedding), Tasia's godmother recites the Nicene Creed, and then they process forward to the altar. At the altar our priest gives Tasia to her grandmothers who whisk her away into a back room and change her out of her clothes and into a towel ready for baptism. She is then brought back to the altar, covered in olive oil by her godmother, and plunged into the font three times (this was by far the hardest part for me!!!). (By the way, all this time Bill and I are just sitting in the front row watching!!). She is then christened by the priest with holy oil in the sign of the cross. The grandmothers then take Tasia away back into the little room and put on her christening attire (also brought by Tasia's godparents from Greece) -- two layers, special shoes and of course her cross. She then returns to the altar for a dance of joy around the table (similar to Greek weddings) and Scripture readings. Then our priest gives Tasia first communion (in the Greek church they have first communion immediately following christening) and he completes the ceremony with the final prayers. Finally, Tasia is presented to us by her godparents and we of course are all in tears!

Our family priest raised Bill in this church. The priest married Bill's parents, baptized Bill, officiated at the funerals of both of Bill's parents, and married us -- so you can only imagine the significance of him baptizing Tasia.

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Susan,

Thank you for sharing the pictures and the "story" behind the pictures. I am always amazed at how similiar somel of our religious traditions really are. Like the dunking three times ....that's what we did for my boys as part of the Jewish ritual. It reminds me that people are always more "alike" than we are different.

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What a wonderful ceremony. The significance of infant baptism is so special. And we appreciate you sharing your words, thoughts and pictures.

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  • 4 months later...

Congratulations to Amanda and Alexis (and parents) on their baptism last week!! (See photo.)

What a special thing, to be joining the universal family of faith! I'm sending up a prayer of thanks for Scott, Karen and their beautiful daughters, and asking God to bless each of them as they continue to grow in their spiritual walk!! :)

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From the book Welcoming Ways by Andrea Alban Gosline (published by Cedco, 2000), comes this helpful information:

How Faith Communities Welcome Their Babies

Assemblies of God

Ceremony: Dedication service

Purpose: Parents publicly state intentions to raise children in the teachings of Jesus and commit to Christian living. Congregants are asked to be Christian role-models.

When: Early infancy

Buddhist

Ceremony: Name-giving

Purpose: Parents assign child's name

When: Any age

Disciples of Christ

Ceremony: Blessing & dedication

Purpose: Community acknowledges the baby's presence and parents seal a covenant between themselves, the child's sponsors and the community to guide the child

When: early infancy

Episcopalian

Ceremony: Baptism

Purpose: Baby is immersed in water in font or water is poured on baby's head to signify washing away of sins.

When: Any age (but usually early infancy)

Greek Orthodox

Ceremony: Baptism, First Communion and Chrismation

Purpose: Baby is anointed with oil on the forehead, cheek, hands and feet, signifying forgiveness of sins. Wine and bread are given to baby to underscore importance of her future participation in sacramental life of the church. Ceremony marks initiation into the church.

When: Early infancy

Hindu

Ceremony: Naming ceremony/Rice-eating ceremony

Purpose: Baby is given his name and first intake of solid food is celebrated

When: 6-8 months old

Islam

Ceremony: Akikah

Purpose: Baby is welcomed

When: Newborn

Jewish

Ceremony: Brit (meaning "covenant")

Purpose: The brit milah is the circumcision ceremony for boys signifying the covenant between God and the Jewish people; baby boy receives his Hebrew name. Jewish girls are given their Jewish names during the brit bat (covenant of the daughter) or the simchat bat (joy of the daughter).

When: 8th day of life (brit milah) or no later than the 40th day of life

Lutheran

Ceremony: Baptism

Purpose: Baby is initiated into the Lutheran church and the Christian faith, her sins are forgiven and she is promised eternal life.

When: Early infancy

Methodist

Ceremony: Baptism

Purpose: Baby is immersed in water in font or water is poured on baby's head to signify the washing away of sin. God is asked to strengthen the baby and the community promises to guide the child in the Christian way of life.

When: infancy

Mormon

Ceremony: Blessing & naming

Purpose: Baby is blessed by the father and given his name.

When: Newborn

Presbyterian

Ceremony: Baptism

Purpose: Parents and congregation pledge to love and nurture baby and God is praised for the new life. Baby is addressed by her name, welcomed, and immersed in water or water is sprinkled on her head.

When: Early infancy or any age

Quaker

Ceremony: Meeting

Purpose: Baby's birth is celebrated.

When: Early infancy or any age

Roman Catholic

Ceremony: Baptism

Purpose: Baby is incorporated into Christ and made a member of His Mystical Body. He is given the virtues of faith, hope and charity, and a character on his soul. His sins are forgiven, water is poured on his forehead and he is declared baptized.

When: 6-8 weeks old

Seventh Day Adventist

Ceremony: Baptism

Purpose: Baby is immersed in a baptismal pool as a sign of remission of sin and spiritual rebirth.

When: Early infancy or any age

United Church of Christ

Ceremony: Baptism or dedication

Purpose: Baby's birth and initiation into church are celebrated and he is given God's grace. Water is poured or sprinkled on his forehead or he is immersed in water.

When: Early infancy or any age.

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Infant baptisms have always been a favorite spiritual experience for me - I believe the souls of all present are connected by God in a very special way during these ceremonies - what an awesome venue to declare before God your committment to this life and to celebrate this gift :wub: mmmmm - happy thoughts.

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  • 1 year later...
  • 6 years later...

We belong to Cibolo Creek Community Church here in SA. Ty had the opportunity to witness his first baptism in the church. Some of his Sunday School friends were baptized today. He was very excited. He's been asking lots of spiritual questions about living eternally. We thought this would be a great conversation to have with him. Thought I'd share. Blessings!

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