A Church of the Caterham Group Ministry: Caterham Deanery - Diocese of Southwark - Church of England
A welcoming community church in Caterham.
Baptisms
Baptism is a response to God’s love – a desire and a commitment to respond to God’s call to
follow the example of Jesus Christ. It is also a celebration, a time to come together with family
and friends; remembering that you are loved by God, are part of a wider community and have
a place with God’s people. We baptize adults and children at St Mary’s. Baptisms are often
also called christenings. The two words mean the same thing. We hold services of Baptism on
the second and fourth Sundays at 12 noon, except during Lent.
If you would like to know more about baptism either for yourself or your child, please contact
Rev Canon Trevor Mapstone, tel: 01883 380741 or email:
trevorstmaryscaterham@gmail.com. Alternatively, there is a drop-in at the parish office (no
appointment necessary) every Saturday morning between 10.45am and 11.15am.
Christenings
During a christening your child will be baptised with water. It’s the start of an amazing journey of faith for your child and a special day for all your friends and family.. If you would like to have your child christened at St Mary’s please contact the office. In the meantime there is plenty of useful information for parents and godparents here:
Adult baptism
You may have been going to church for a while and want to make a more definite commitment in terms of your Christian faith. For adults and young people, baptism usually takes place shortly before, or at the same time, as confirmation. Confirmation is the service when those who have previously been baptized affirm their promises and are specially prayed for by a Bishop.
The adult baptism service is similar to the service for a child’s baptism, except that there is no role for parents or godparents because you make the decision and the promises yourself.
You may decide to have supporting friends or ‘sponsors’ – this can be anyone who wishes to encourage you in your Christian faith. It may be a friend, or someone in your family and you may have more than one person if you wish.
At St Mary’s we are lucky enough to have a beautiful font where the holy water is poured over the head of the ‘candidate’. This represents Jesus’ sacrifice washing away our human sin and symbolises the beginning of your new spiritual life.
To prepare for your baptism and/or confirmation you will be invited to attend meetings or events in the church to help you think about this new beginning.
To talk about booking your Baptism, please contact Rev Canon Trevor Mapstone, tel: 01883 380741 or email: trevorstmaryscaterham@gmail.com. Alternatively, there is a drop-in at the parish office (no appointment necessary) every Saturday morning between 10.45am and 11.15am.