Concerning the Sacrament
It is a joy to welcome new members “into the household of God” through the biblical sacrament of Holy Baptism.
We thank you, Father, for the water of Baptism. In it we are buried with Christ in his death. By it we share in his resurrection. Through it we are reborn by the Holy Spirit. Therefore in joyful obedience to your Son, we bring into his fellowship those who come to him in faith, baptizing them in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
-- from The Book of Common Prayer
Baptism in The Episcopal Church may be celebrated at any time during a person’s life, as we believe it is the Church’s way of celebrating the love of God for humankind, most clearly revealed to us in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
God’s love for us and commitment to us comes in the first moment of life, so even the youngest child may be baptized. God’s love is also unchanging, and is available for even the oldest of candidates.
The relationship celebrated in Baptism is indissoluble; one is “sealed by the Holy Spirit in Baptism, and marked as Christ’s own forever.” A person re-entering the Church may renew his or her covenant with God, but is never “re-baptised.”
Baptism is a sacrament the whole church celebrates, and is most often administered as part of Sunday worship in which the whole congregation takes part, as we renewing our covenant with God, and affirming the responsibility we have to support one another in our shared life in Christ.
The days most appropriate for Baptism are the Sunday on which the church recalls the Baptism of Jesus (the First Sunday after the Epiphany, January 6th), The Day of Resurrection (Easter Day), The Day of Pentecost (fifty days after Easter Day), and the Sunday after All Saints Day (November 1st).
A person’s or family’s preparation for Holy Baptism at All Saints may begin at any time, and starts with a commitment to regular worship among us. |
