The birth of a child is an exciting event and giving thanks to God for the miraculous gift of life is an appropriate thing to do for all who become parents. But perhaps your thoughts have turned to the question of Baptism or Christening for a baby. The service of Baptism is far more than an expression of thanks to God . It is to receive the sign that God has done something wonderful for the child so as to make it possible for him/her to enter into a personal relationship with Him. God's love has been shown in the gift of His Son Jesus Christ who came to show us what the Father is like, and to lay down His life for all so that we might be forgiven and made acceptable to Him. Like all human relationships, more than one party is involved. With Baptism, God has already done something in Jesus for us, but we need to make a response to that gift. In the case of a child, the parents and godparents are asked to make the response on behalf of the child. | The response required is belief and trust in God - ie. commitment to Him and His ways, and a visible belonging to God's family - ie. the church. Some parents find that they would just like to express thanks to God for the gift of a child, without making any profession of Christian belief or membership of the church. There is a service designed specially for this situation.... It is called The Service of Thanksgiving for the birth of a child. Contact us and we will explain how this fits into our Preparation Meetings. |
