I conducted my first baptism last week and also my first thanksgiving service. Both of these services were for infants.These got me thinking a bit more about each of these services - the meaning behind them and why different people choose one over the other.
Let me clarify the two services. Baptism - the parents make promises before God and the church that they will bring their child up knowing God. They will endeavour to do this by reading with them and teaching them amongst other things. They themselves must also profess their faith.
A thanksgiving service on the other hand does not include promises, but more an opportunity to give thanks (as the name suggests) for the birth of the child and pray that one day that child will indeed make up their own mind as to what they believe. It also gives opportunities to pray for the child and the parents as they raise the child. This would be similar to what is done in a baptist church even for believing parents.
For me I believe in infant baptism and bringing the young people of believing parents into God's covenant family. I then believe that those who do not believe should have a thanksgiving service.
Let me digress for a moment and let you know what occurs within this diocese. (this is from my understanding and I am willing to be corrected if I have any of this wrong) Parents wishing to have their child baptised contact the minister and they arrange a visit or send out information (the first being the better alternative) During this visit, the parents are informed about the two different services and what they both involve. From here the minister leaves them with information and invites them to come to church where they hand their form back in indicating which service they would prefer.
If thanksgiving is chosen, then a date and venue can be determined and usually one more visit is conducted which gives an extra contact with the family and also allows for a small gospel presentation to be made. Also at this time the service is run through so the parents know what will be occurring on the day.
If baptism is chosen, the parents understand that their will be 3 further meetings with the minister or another member of the congregation to prepare them for the baptism. (Unless already a regular member of the church and clearly a follower of Christ) These visits allow for the chance go through a more in depth gospel presentation such as 2 Ways to Live broken down in parts or Christianity Explained. From this they may become Christians and understand what it means to be a follow of Jesus. If this is the case then that is awesome. Others though have some idea about it all and just know that to have their kid "done" would please their parents/grandparents.
I have so far seen both sides of this.
I struggle though with baptisms for children of non-believers. In the end even if we know they are not Christians, we still go ahead and baptise their child. They get up, say the words have the water splashed on the child and more often than not then leave after the service is over as quickly as possible. How can we as a church family say that we will support these people and the child when it is unlikely that apart from around town we will not see them again until they come to have their next child done. I mean it is a great opportunity we get to sit down and share the gospel with people, but maybe we need to be more hard-lined as some churches in Sydney are and not baptise children from unbelieving parents.
Do we need to gently guide them into having a thanksgiving service instead? If so how can we do this. We do not want to present two options for them and then tell them that one is no longer available to them. We need to assist them to see/come to terms with the sort of promises that they are making for their child and ask them to think seriously about what they are saying. The words they are saying are not just for fun, but they are like vows that they took at their wedding. They are promises that they should keep, but how can they if they do not believe? This is the struggle I am facing.
One thing that needs to be kept in mind though is that unlike in Sydney it is more than likely that you will see these people around town again. We want to show as a church that we are welcoming etc, but are we doing it at the expense of what we believe? If we turn people away, what does that say about us as a church? Will they just go somewhere else to get it done?
Anyway I should be asleep, and now this is down maybe that will help a bit. I do apologise for the longer blog too for those who do not enjoy reading that much, but I hope at least that it is clear what I am saying.
I know one thing though I have not yet figured this one out, but that also goes for leaders of communion services must be ordained priests, confirmation services being done by bishops and a whole host of other things. But enough for now.
