child dedication

Thanksgiving services at St Marks

Dedication and Thanksgiving services enable parents, along with our church community, to express their thanks to God for the birth of children. If they wish, Parents may also make promises about raising their children in God’s world. We recognise that parents, and indeed every individual, are at different stages on what we might call a ‘spectrum of faith’. Some parents, for instance, are committed and active followers of the Lord Jesus Christ, and want nothing more than for their children to follow him as well. Others have a sense of God's goodness and presence in the world but have not yet come to a point of putting their trust in Christ and inviting him to rule their lives. It's for this reason that we offer three different services, each reflecting where along this spectrum of faith parents find themselves. Each service has its own particular emphasis.

Information on Infant Baptism is available here.

Thanksgiving and Dedication

An alternate service we offer is a Service of Thanksgiving and Dedication. In this service the parents give thanks to God for their child, and make promises before Him to raise their child to know and follow Jesus Christ. In this service we pray for God's blessing on the child and the parents as they seek to do this. No explicit statement about the faith of the parents is made; parents simply declare that they understand the significance of Christ's death on the cross. In this service we do not ‘splash’ the child’s head with water.

Godparents may be either the parents themselves, or others close to the family who are interested in the child's spiritual nurture. They ought to be able to make the same statements and promises which the parents make since their role is to support and assist the parents in their commitment to raise their child in the faith that the Bible teaches.

Thanksgiving

We also offer a Service of Thanksgiving. This service enables the parents and the congregation to thank God for the birth of a child and, through prayer, seek his blessing as the parents seek to raise their child in God's world.

When & where are Infant Baptism or Thanksgiving services held?

All three services take place during our regular Sunday church gathering at 10am at St Mark's Avalon. This enables the whole congregation to welcome your child and pray for him or her.

Is there a fee for these services?

No. Parents should feel no obligation in this respect. If they wish to make a thank offering, either through the normal offertory or in some other way, they may do so.

Where to from here?

As a first step we would like to invite you to church one Sunday morning. That way we’ll be able to meet, and you’ll be able to experience the style of our church meetings as well as get a feel for our church community. We meet each Sunday at 10am at St Mark’s Avalon.

If, after visiting us, you think St Mark’s is the right kind of church for your child’s service, you would then need to attend a formal Information afternoon which we hold on the 1st Sunday of every 2nd month (February, April, June, August & October). Both you and your spouse would need to attend that afternoon together. The purpose of this Information session is to outline the format of the Thanksgiving and Infant Baptism services, and to explain their significance. Furthermore, so that you can decide which is the most appropriate service for your child, we will be encouraging you to think carefully about your own beliefs and convictions regarding the Christian faith. There will also be ample opportunity for you to ask questions. The afternoon will run for approximately 1 hour. Please call our office to confirm your attendance at one of these information sessions.

Normally we do not conduct these services for families who live outside our parish unless there are special circumstances.