Baptism Dates for Program year 2008-2009

September 28
November 2
January 11
April 11
May 31

Procedure For The Baptism Of
Children
At Holy Trinity

CHURCH ATTENDANCE:  Holy Baptism is initiation into the full life of the Christian Church.  Baptism should only be sought, therefore, when there is a serious intention on the part of all responsible parties to be consistently involved in the life of the church.  It is expected that parents will be participating in worship on a regular basis before a baptism is scheduled.

BAPTISM DATES:  Baptisms are normally held at regularly scheduled worship services within the context of Holy Eucharist (8:00 a.m., 10:30 a.m., or 6:00 p.m.).  We do not generally do private baptisms except for significant pastoral cause. Upcoming dates for Baptisms for the 2007 are: January 7th, February 18th, April 15th, May 27th, September 23 and November 4th. 

APPLICATION:  Parents who are interested in baptism for a child should fill out a baptism application and schedule a meeting with the Clergy.

SELECTION OF GODPARENTS:  Godparents should be chosen for their grasp of the Christian faith and their value as living role models of it.  They should participate regularly with a Christian congregation for their own spiritual growth.  Godparents should be willing to enter into a long-term relationship with the child; thus, it is advisable to choose people whom your child will have an opportunity to know well during the course of his or her life.

Godparents may be family members or friends.  Each child should have at least two godparents, but not more than four.  It is recommended that godparents be equally divided between males and females or, if there are three godparents, that two of them be of the same gender as the child to be baptized.  You should select Godparents before the date of the presentation and instructional series so they may, if possible, participate in them.

THE PRESENTATION:  The presentation marks the beginning of a two week baptismal instruction period.  All candidates for Holy Baptism are presented to the congregation at the regular Sunday service two weeks prior to the baptism.  Parents (and godparents, if available) will answer simple questions about their intentions.  The presentation is brief and requires no preparation.  The presentation also allows the congregation to become acquainted with families preparing for baptism and begin their supportive relationship.  Beginning at this service, and ending on the baptism day, candidates and parents will be included in the Prayers of the People.

INSTRUCTION:  Beginning on the day of presentation, 2 weeks prior to the baptism, parents and, to the extent possible, godparents, will participate in clergy-led instruction classes on topics including (1) the history and meaning of Holy Baptism, (2) the spiritual responsibilities of parents and godparents, and (3) Christian parenting.  These classes are mandatory for parents; if a class must be missed the clergy should be notified in advance and a separate meeting with the clergy must be scheduled for a make-up class.  The baptism classes are held during the Sunday morning education hour, from 9:15 a.m. – 10:15 a.m.  Child care and Sunday School classes are available for children.

BAPTISM OF CHILDREN NOT ASSOCIATED WITH HOLY TRINITY:  We will be happy to baptize children whose parents are not active members of Holy Trinity upon the request of the Rector or Minister of the parish in which the family is an active member.    It is expected that parents will receive baptism instruction at their home church and that the minister of that church will certify to the clergy of Holy Trinity that such instruction has been completed and that the parents are actively participating in church life.

FEES/HONORARIA:  There are no fees associated with the Sacrament of Holy Baptism, nor is it expected that parents will provide an honoraria to clergy.