starting-out

We are delighted that you want to know how to go about arranging a Christening for your child.  A Christening gives parents, godparents, the wider family and friends an opportunity to thank God for his gift of life; as the child will be baptised during the Christening it also marks your decision to start the child on an important journey of faith.

Making Arrangements

If you live within the parish of Basford or have some other meaningful connection with St. Mark’s, we will be pleased to discover how best we can help you embark on this journey of a lifetime.  It is essential that you come along to a Sunday service (09h30) and talk things over with us as it is not possible to make bookings by telephone, with emails or to reserve dates. The date for the Christening can be established and the application completed when you come to see us.

Christenings are important to the whole congregation and we have certain Sundays during the year on which they can take place. These dates are fixed due to the practical necessity of having our clergy (who serve more than one parish) available to perform the baptism as part of the Christening.

Embarking on any journey usually requires some form of preparation and this spiritual journey is no different. Prior to their child’s Christening, parents and godparents will be invited to a Christening preparation evening at which the different roles will be explained and questions answered.  These evenings are popular and cause everyone to feel much more comfortable and excited about what lies ahead.  These preparation events are normally shared by two or three families who have Christenings booked.

We look forward to seeing you soon! In the meantime, the procedure for Christenings is described more fully in the document (Policy and Guide for Parents Seeking Infant Baptism) which can be read or downloaded for printing by clicking on this link……  Christenings-Basford 2022