St Mary's Church Ash Vale

Celebrating the Birth of a Child

Children are a gift from God. Naturally, many parents want to celebrate their arrival with some form of service in church. St. Mary's is part of the Church of England which, like many churches, recognises two main services to celebrate the birth of a child:

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is a service for those who wish, quite simply, to say "thank you" to God for their child. Prayers are said, the child is named and blessed and a gospel is given which tells the story of Jesus.

Baptism

Baptism is for those who want to state their desire to bring up their child as a Christian. It therefore involves words of commitment to Jesus Christ and to church. As well as the words of commitment, the child is named, water is poured over the child, and prayers are said.

Baptism is the mark of being part of the Christian Church. Families bringing their child for baptism hope that one day their child will be confirmed and make this commitment to Jesus and to church for themselves.

You will need to think very carefully about this service as you will be asked to make a clear personal confession of the Christian faith.

What to do next

We ask you to come along to a preparation evening to dicuss the options. To arrange this, please contact the church office.