Your answers
Baptisms of non-churchgoers' children never seem to
happen in our parish now. Is this a common experience? (I do not
know if our vicar discourages them.)
We, too, get only a handful of non-churchgoing infant-baptism
requests. Those who do seek baptism almost always have some
childhood churchgoing experience, or they wish to continue a
tradition in their family. As most of the parents I now meet were
born in the 1980s or later, I put down the decline in baptism
requests to the significant "de-churching" of that generation.
Conversely, we are receiving many more baptism requests from
non-churchgoing adults who feel that they have missed something,
even if they cannot articulate what it is.
(The Revd) Toby Hole (Vicar of St Chad's)
Woodseats, Sheffield
We still have significant numbers of parents whom we would
rarely see on a Sunday but who request baptism for their children.
We find often here that the parents are not yet married (although
that can follow), and that the baptism of their firstborn (in
particular) provides an opportunity for the community to
acknowledge a new family unit.
Numbers attending can be substantial. Two years ago, we were
approached by a family from outside the parish (and diocese)
requesting baptism in Howden Minster. When I asked why they had
come, they replied that their vicar had sent them. I followed this
up before agreeing, only to find that their home parish church was
too small to accommodate all the guests that they intended to
invite. We welcomed them on a particularly busy Sunday, when more
than 300 people attended baptisms (many times the regular Sunday
congregation).
I believe in the objective reality of the sacrament of baptism
as a means of grace, irrespective of the beliefs of parents
(professed or otherwise). Baptism preparation provides an
opportunity to share something of the gospel. The service itself
can provide an opportunity to reach out and welcome a much larger
group of people.
(The Revd) James Little
(Team Rector and Rural Dean)
Howden, East Riding of Yorkshire
Your questions
Whose responsibility is it to ensure that newly ordained
priests can read (if not sing) church services clearly, correctly,
and audibly, and carry out the manual actions at holy
communion?
A. M.
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