christenings

[nathanmum]

ive decided to get nathan christened when i have another and kill 2 birds with one stone.
the thing is i was christened catholic but dont practice it, OH is not christened. would the catholic church christen them???
i was thinking about us getting christened together as christians??? tbh i dont really know the difference??
i doubt OH will get christened it will be just the babies or me and babies??? HELP!

 

[Lindsay]

I can't help you really but I know that when I went to a catholic christening it lasted a lot longer than Jacob's which was a christian one so I think they must be different Give the church a ring and ask they will let you know hun

Xxx

 

[kellie80]

I'll be watching to see if you find anything out cos I've been thinking the same thing. OH is catholic and my eldest goes to a catholic school but I don't know anything about it cos I not religeous. I would just like them to be christened.

 

[Baileysmummy]

Hi, my hubby wasnt christned, but i really wanted my boys christned so when we had cameron done, the vicar did him at the same time..

other than that i cant help if your oh wont get christned..

 

[Nicola]

If you have been Christened then you have been Christened, it's the same formation in the Church of England as it is in the Catholic church. You can't be Christened twice, both the church of england and catholic faiths are christian faiths, thus you wouldn't "qualify" to be done again. Your OH could be if he wanted to though. So long as one parent is a baptised catholic (the difference between the church of england and catholic church is that C of E call it 'christening' and the catholics call it a baptism...it's the same thing). You only need one parent to have been baptised to have the child baptised into the catholic faith although some churches can be fussy and insist that you have attended 'regular' mass for X amount of time beforehand, by regular they mean at least once a month in most parishes. With a catholic baptism there is often also a preperation course. This would start 4 weeks before the baptism date and would take the form of say:

July 8 Preparation 1 (meeting to discuss what it's all about and why)
July 15 Welcomes (baby's name/inentions for baptism read out at mass)
July 15 Preparation 2 (more talk on how/why/when/significance/importance etc)
July 22 The Baptism Celebration

You would often attend preperation classes with 2-3 other parents wanting their child baptised and the actual baptism celebration would be a group thing...unless your fortunate enough to have had a baby and want him baptised when no one else has applied type thing but usually it's 2-3 babies done at one ceremony as the ceremony is a special service, it's not a regular 10am mass, it's normally around noon in our parish so there is space for the family/friends as I know if I tried inviting guests to our 10am mass there would be no space for them to sit down and enjoy it.

With the catholic faith they might also insist (again this changes from parish to parish so you are best seeking advice from the father of your local parish) but they might insist that at least one Godparent is also a catholic - that can make things harder for some parents. You would be asked to provide yours/thier baptism certificates as evidence.

You can have your LO christened in a church of England without the prepartion courses so long as you live in the parish in which you are applying.

Hope that helps, feel free to ask me anything else your unsure about

xx

 

[Charlotte & Emily]

hiya
ive been christened (church of england) but dont go to church but the vicar at the church i was christened in has agreed to christen emily i just need to meet him first and tell him why i want emily to be christened and i have to see the vicar at my parish to ask his permission to get her christened in another church.

i think with catholics, both you and your OH have to be catholic but thats all i know

 

[frangelle]

ive decided to get nathan christened when i have another and kill 2 birds with one stone.
the thing is i was christened catholic but dont practice it, OH is not christened. would the catholic church christen them???
i was thinking about us getting christened together as christians??? tbh i dont really know the difference??
i doubt OH will get christened it will be just the babies or me and babies??? HELP!

That's what I'm doing, when little bean is born I am having Kieran christened at the same time. We are christians, so I dont know alot about catholics, I'm afraid!

 

[Nicola]

We are christians, so I dont know alot about catholics, I'm afraid!

Catholics are Christians. It's more or less the same thing just a slightly different belief on certain issues/saints etc. Full entry into the Catholic church isn't just being Christened as it is in the Church of England, it's only the start of the journey that also takes into account confirmation, holy communion and reconcilliation (confession) before you would be classed as a fully fledged catholic. Our believes/outlook etc are the same thing though, it is a Christian faith.

i think with catholics, both you and your OH have to be catholic but thats all i know

No, so long as one parent is Catholic the baby can also be baptised Catholic. I'm catholic, DH is Church of England, our baby will be baptised into the catholic faith. There isn't an issue with DH not being Catholic given I'm a practising Catholic.

 

[Xena]

My daughter was christened Catholic.

I am a catholic but my husband is nothing at all.

We had to promise to take her to church every week and raise her in the catholic faith strictly.

You can have either 1 or two godparents. If there are two, they must be of the opposite genders.
At least ONE godparent must be a practising catholic. If the other (if you're having 2) is not a practising catholic, they must be a practising christian at least - in another christian demonination. This godparent is then known as a "christian witness" instead of a "godparent".

For my daughter, my cousin is her male practising catholic godfather,
and my best friend is her female (supposedly practising ) christian witness.

 

[nathanmum]

does it matter that we are not married?
i dont know any catholics so im thinking being christened might be easier.we dont have a local catholic church that i know of.
do you have a cerificate when your baptised cos i dont think i have one, my mum probably burned it, cos shes anti catholic cos my dad was??
can you get another certificate?
if i go for a christening do the godparents have to be christened??
this is why i want nathan christened as no one sees it a important anymore,its like a dying tradition.
thanks for answering so informatively nicola thats brill

 

[Nicola]

does it matter that we are not married? i dont know any catholics so im thinking being christened might be easier.we dont have a local catholic church that i know of. do you have a cerificate when your baptised cos i dont think i have one, my mum probably burned it, cos shes anti catholic cos my dad was?? can you get another certificate? if i go for a christening do the godparents have to be christened?? this is why i want nathan christened as no one sees it a important anymore,its like a dying tradition. thanks for answering so informatively nicola thats brill

Your welcome...let's see: no, it doesn't matter whether you are married or not but yes you will need your baptism/christening certificate. You will need to find out what parish/church you were christiened/baptised at and write to them if it's not local to you now, explain you are now seeking baptism for your son and can you please have a copy of your own baptismal records. They will be able to photocopy the page from the register showing your baptism entry. You could ask for a new certificate, I'm not sure if they would issue one or not but a copy of the baptism register would certinally do instead. Yes Godparents have to have been christened themselves...my aunt was christened a week before me in order to become my godmother. PM me the area you live in and I'll find you the nearest catholic church to you. I think christenings/baptisms might appear to be a dying tradition because the church does little to seek attention of the younger population, they make their rules and ways so hard to get around sometimes it just puts people off. A lot of people opt instead for a naming day, where they basically throw a party and formally announce the name of their child themselves, it's more a gathering for friends/family but baby get's pressies all the same...it's non-religious but seems more fitting with a lot of younger people's views and lifestyles now. The thing to remember with the catholic church is that despite all their rules/regulations regarding infant baptism each parish is slightly different in how strict they are on it. It's worth contracting the office for the parish your interested in and just explaining - they will give you the best answers specific to your parish, i.e. if you have to attend each sunday for a month beforehand or whether they still expect you to have Catholic godparents etc. Like Xena said one Godparent HAS to be Catholic but you could have other Christian godparents who although you would call them a Godmother, Godfather etc they are actually in the eyes of the church "Witnesses" instead. This is what I mean about rules etc getting silly but it's certinally worth phoning your local C of E and Catholic parish and finding out their rules etc, they will perhaps invite you to meet with them to discuss it (depending on whether the priest is home and avaliable to talk right then etc) but it's worth investigating. Good luck with everything, feel free to ask questions!!

 

[nathanmum]

thanks thats brill

 

[frangelle]

We are christians, so I dont know alot about catholics, I'm afraid!

Catholics are Christians. It's more or less the same thing just a slightly different belief on certain issues/saints etc. Full entry into the Catholic church isn't just being Christened as it is in the Church of England, it's only the start of the journey that also takes into account confirmation, holy communion and reconcilliation (confession) before you would be classed as a fully fledged catholic. Our believes/outlook etc are the same thing though, it is a Christian faith.

i think with catholics, both you and your OH have to be catholic but thats all i know

No, so long as one parent is Catholic the baby can also be baptised Catholic. I'm catholic, DH is Church of England, our baby will be baptised into the catholic faith. There isn't an issue with DH not being Catholic given I'm a practising Catholic.

I meant protestant, catholics believe different things dont they? I know when I went to a catholic batism it was quite different from the christenings im used to, the emphasis seems to be on Mary.

 

[Nicola]

I meant protestant, catholics believe different things dont they? I know when I went to a catholic batism it was quite different from the christenings im used to, the emphasis seems to be on Mary.

Church of England is a protestant/christian church. Protestant takes into account the different forms of Christian branches, Luthrican, Church of England/Scotland/Wales, Anabaptists, Calvinists and so forth (there are many, many protestant christian branches, the reasons for the split into different brances are numerous depending on the branch). Catholics share the same common ground as protestants (as in their faith in Jesus Christ and so forth) but there are significant differences, such as ceremonial dress to the way the masses are conducted. Catholic masses are very much conducted in a liturgical fashion with more emphasis onn symbols, rituals and ceremony. The grounding faith is the same, it's just (as with all Chrisitan branches of faith) there are differences which gives you the different religions, i.e C of E, Catholic, Anabaptists etc. We belive the same thing just place emphasis on different bits.

Does that help?? I'm maybe confusing matters now!!

 

[Redshoes]

I recently became a godparent of my best friends LO, she is catholic, so am I, her partner is of no religion, in her case she had to have meetings before the actual event and these were a couple of hours of an evening over a few weeks.
The christening was a lovely ceremony, as her and her brother and sister had their LO's christened at the same time I hope you day is as special too nathanmum
We intend on having our LO christened, and there is also other traditions for naming ceremonies for non-faith parents which are lovely alternative too

 

[frangelle]

I meant protestant, catholics believe different things dont they? I know when I went to a catholic batism it was quite different from the christenings im used to, the emphasis seems to be on Mary.

Church of England is a protestant/christian church. Protestant takes into account the different forms of Christian branches, Luthrican, Church of England/Scotland/Wales, Anabaptists, Calvinists and so forth (there are many, many protestant christian branches, the reasons for the split into different brances are numerous depending on the branch). Catholics share the same common ground as protestants (as in their faith in Jesus Christ and so forth) but there are significant differences, such as ceremonial dress to the way the masses are conducted. Catholic masses are very much conducted in a liturgical fashion with more emphasis onn symbols, rituals and ceremony. The grounding faith is the same, it's just (as with all Chrisitan branches of faith) there are differences which gives you the different religions, i.e C of E, Catholic, Anabaptists etc. We belive the same thing just place emphasis on different bits.

Does that help?? I'm maybe confusing matters now!!

smarty pants

 

[Nicola]

smarty pants

Sorry

 

[frangelle]

smarty pants

Sorry

I was only joking mwaaah mwaaah xxxxx

 

[Nicola]

Oh I know...no worries whatso ever!