Sacrament of Baptism

Baptism is one of the two main sacraments, and marks the beginning of our new life in Christ. We may have been praying to God and Jesus and the Holy Spirit for some time, but baptism marks the moment when we have definitively decided to follow Christ and become a member of his worshipping community, the Church. In turn, the community of the Church welcomes us in the name of the Father, Son- Jesus Christ and Holy Spirit - Holy Trinity.

 

Baptism is the gateway to our Life with Christ; through it we are cleansed of original sin and brought into new life. We believe that baptism removes from us ‘original sin’: the consequence of our being part of a world that has disobeyed God in so many ways. It gives us the opportunity to start again with a clean sheet. We are washed with water as a symbol of our cleansing, in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. We are called by our own special name. We are given a candle, lit from the Easter candle, as a symbol that Christ is the Light of the World and that we also are called to be a light to the world. We are given a white garment, to remind us of our new purity, in Christ.