Lives in the village of Bredhurst (i.e., South of the M2 and in the parish of South Gillingham)
OR
Is on our Church electoral roll. To be on the electoral roll you must have been Baptised (Christened) yourself and have regularly attended St Peter’s for at least six months.

We do realise that many people who don’t fall into the above categories want to have their children Christened at St Peter’s, so:

There are two reasons, one is theological and the other is practical:

Baptism is the ceremony in which a child is admitted to the Christian church. This only makes sense if it is conducted within the child’s own community or within the church in which the child may be expected to grow up.
Incidentally, we get into deep trouble if we Christen children who are not from our parish unless we have obtained special permission.
Our Curate is also an engineer who often works away from home from Sunday afternoon until Saturday morning. He simply does not have the time to care properly for all the families who want Christening services.

Can we suggest a few options:

Try your local church (St Matthew’s for Wigmore, St Paul’s for Parkwood or All Saints for Hempstead) – you may be surprised at how atmospheric they are, despite not being 900 years old with woodworm in the rafters.
Try coming along to us for six months. (We get quite a few of our congregation that way and are more than used to babies crying and toddlers playing under the altar). Chat to the Curate about what he regards as regular – especially if you work on Sundays. The requirement is that you become a regular member of our worshipping church community.

Are you sure you want a Christening (with the water)? We can offer a simple service of Thanksgiving and Naming. This is simpler to arrange and does not have the theological barriers – but you will need to be flexible as to date and time. If you’re interested, please call the Curate direct or drop into one of our services and have a chat afterwards.

Call the Parish Office on 01634 231736
You will be visited by a member of the congregation who will explain what will happen and will be a friendly face in the future
The Visitor will arrange for you to attend two preparation evenings with other parents from the parish. These are light-hearted evenings of discussion about the meaning of Baptism. Don’t worry; it’s not heavy.
The Visitor will also arrange for you to participate in a service of Thanksgiving. This is a brief ceremony during a main 11,00 family service. Have a look in the Resources section for a typical format. It serves two purposes – to introduce you to the church and vice-versa, and to give thanks for the birth of the child.
After the Thanksgiving we ask you to think carefully about whether or not Baptism is right for you and your child. If the answer is yes, then call the Curate and he will arrange everything with you.
We like to do Christenings in the Family Services, but if you have a large family or if we have a sudden surge in requests then we may ask you to have the service on a Sunday afternoon.

The official position is this:

You should have a minimum of two and a maximum of four. There is no rule on gender, but it is traditional to have two women and a man for a baby girl and the other way round for a boy.
They must have been Baptised (Christened) themselves in a Christian Church.
Ideally all, and at least one, must also have been confirmed.

But we are realists, so talk to us before panicking. We have even included someone in New Zealand via a video link before now so anything’s possible.

Nothing.