St Edmunds Church Tyseley

Serving the Parish of Tyseley & The Wider Community

St Edmunds Church is Currently in “Interregnum”. Which means we are awaiting our new Parish Priest (Vicar).  We are still very much open on Sundays, Wednesdays and Alternative Tuesdays for our Services and our Coffee & Craft times.  You will be offered a warm welcome and Christian Support & Care. 

For the foreseeable future we are unable to conduct Weddings and Baptisms without the help of our Neighbouring Churches in Acocks Green (St Mary’s) and Hall Green (Church of the Ascension). 

If you need any Help, Support or Prayer please contact us through the email address on the contact us page of this web site.


Baptisms: Church of England

Baptism Water

  • Questions Frequently
    asked about Baptism

Q: What is the difference between a Baptism & a christening?

A: None, they are just different words for the same thing.

Q: What is the right age for Baptism?

A: Baptism can happen at any age. What matters is that those concerned believe it is right to ask for Baptism.

 Teenagers & adults may also be Baptised ~ You can only be Baptised once, but there are ways of renewing your commitment publicly as an adult.

Q: I’m not a regular churchgoer. Can I still have my child Baptised?

A: Yes. The Church believes that God’s love is available to all, regardless of their background. 

Q: What is a Godparent?

A: Godparents make the same promises on behalf of the child being Baptised as parents. They promise to pray & support the child and to help the parents bring up the child in the Christian Faith. It is an important and responsible role.

Q: What does it cost?

A: The Baptism service is Free.


Bethen BaptismAsking the church for a Baptism

* We believe Baptism is very important to God and so it is important to us at St Edmunds.

* We take any request very seriously and to demonstrate our seriousness we ask the following of the
requesting family
.

*Baptism Cycle Document  A Simple Help to show what happens

It is the parents who normally ask the church if they could have their child baptised by contacting their local church. 

 * We will ask the Baptismal Family to attend three of our Sunday Morning Services. 

* We think this is important for the family, so they are comfortable with the Teachings and
   Worship of the Christian Faith.

* It gives the Family three opportunities to meet and get to know the Local Church. 

Some details will be asked for at the first contact and three meetings will be set up:  Baptism Application Form

1.The first meeting is usually at the family home.

2.  The second is in the church. This helps the family to get familiar with
      the seating and the font. If possible, the Godparents are asked to
      come along.

3.  The third meeting is to finalise the Baptism details and for any
      questions to be answered.

During the first meeting we like to ask two key questions:

1.   “Why do you want your child baptised?”

2.  “What is your strategy and plan as parents, to resource this journey
        of faith in the child’s life so he/she may develop a personal
        relationship with God?”  (copy of the question)

 

What Happens after Baptism?

  • font in churchThe Church records the Baptism in the Baptismal Register and prays for the child & family. 
  • It also prepares services & other events that are family friendly and looks forward to supporting
    and helping in the Journey of faith ahead.
  • Parents & Godparents should plan the way they are going to help, support & teach the child about the Christian Faith. 
    Parents & Godparents are called to Pray for the Child.

And, Most Importantly ~

Encourage the Baptised Child to grow in a

Real Loving Relationship with God.


 

 

  •    What is Baptism?

 In Baptism parents and those responsible for the children in their care are thanking God for the Gift of New Life, deciding to start the child on the journey of faith & asking for the Church’s support. 

For the Child, Baptism marks the Start of a journey of faith, which involves turning away from the darkness of self-centredness, turning towards Christ and becoming a member of the local & worldwide Christian Family.

Baptism is a ‘Sacrament’: a visible sign of God’s love. In Baptism, we are thanking God for His gift of life and publicly acknowledging that we all need to turn away from the darkness of evil and to make a new start with God.

 

  •   Shouldn’t we let our children make their own decisions?

Some people worry about imposing views on their children and the young people they are responsible for; but from the moment they are born, those who love & care for them are making choices on their behalf.  You don’t wait until they are old enough to ask for milk before you feed them and in the same way it is right to give them spiritual nourishment and teach them about the love that God has for them.

Baptism does not make a person a Christian.  Christians are those who recognise & choose to follow the Lordship & Person of God (Father, Son & Holy Spirit) who has taken their sin on himself.  They choose to acknowledge that they need to say sorry to God for the way they have lived and they choose to accept the New Life that God gives to those who love Him.

So it’s about choice, every person has to choose personally, so those who love & care for the children around them are teaching, supporting, encouraging and praying for those they love to make that decision when they are old enough.   

 

  •   Why Baptism?

First, infant baptism is a practice that goes back to the very earliest days of the Church and is therefore something that the Church of England does not feel free to discard.

Secondly, the Church of England believes that God’s merciful love, what Christians call God’s ‘grace’, always precedes our human response and enables it. Personal confession of faith following on from and responding to the grace of God received in infant baptism is consistent with this fact. 

Thirdly, we read in the gospels that Christ welcomed and blessed those infants that were brought to Him (Mark 10:13-15) and the Church of England believes that infant baptism is a way He continues to do this today.

Fourthly, the Bible as a whole tells us that the children of believers are themselves part of God’s family and therefore The Church of England feels that it is right that they should have the sign of belonging to the family just as Jewish children in the Old Testament had the sign of circumcision (Genesis 17:9-14, Acts 2:39, 16:31, 1 Corinthians 7:14).

 

   What Happens in the Baptism Service?

†    The Baptism takes place during a Morning Service at St Edmunds Church;  You will be welcomed as you arrive & you will be invited to join in with the service, then at a given time you will be invited to join the Vicar at the Font for the Baptism. The whole congregation will join in the welcome of the person being Baptised.

†    Under exeptional  circumstances Baptisms can also take place at other times.  This would need to be agreed by the Vicar.  

   The full Baptismal Service can be seen through this link

 

  •    What are the Three Symbols used in Baptism?


Water ~ At the font, the Priest will pour water on the child’s head. Water is a sign of washing and cleansing.  In Baptism it is a sign of being washed free from sin and beginning a new life with God.  Water is a sign of Life, but also a symbol of death. When we are Baptised our old life is buried in the waters and we are raised to new life with Christ.

Oil ~ After the Baptism, the Priest will make the sign of the Cross on the child’s forehead.  This is like an invisible badge to show that Christians are united with Christ and must not be ashamed to stand up for their faith.  The oil is also used as an Anointing & Prayer for protection from evil and the darkness of the world now the child is to be Baptised into the Church.

Light ~  Jesus is called the light of the world.  You will be given a lighted candle at the end of the service as a reminder of the light which has come into your child’s life.  It is up to You, the child’s Godparents & the Church Community to help your child reject the world of darkness and follow a way of life that reflects goodness and light, & shares this light with others.

† Little child, For you Jesus Christ has come, He has fought, He has suffered.  For you he entered the shadow of Gethsemane and the horror of Calvary. For you he uttered the cry “it is finished!” For you he rose from the dead and ascended into heaven and there he intercedes - For you little child, even though you do not know it.   But in this way the word of the gospel becomes true. “We love him, because he first loved us”.  (These words are taken from the French Reformed Church. they express so simply and profoundly the doctrine of Grace which is at the heart of Baptism)