Expectant parents are encouraged to contact the Parish Office to schedule an appointment to attend the required Baptism class taught by Denise Collins. Parents must be registered parishioners and should be attending Mass regularly.
Baptisms are performed on Sundays following the 9am and 11am Masses.
See Matthew 28:19; John 3:22, 4:1-2; Acts 2:38-41
Baptism welcomes us into God's family in the church. Baptism also cleans us from original sin that we are born with. We are given a new life and share in the Good News. Parents choose Godparents for you and promise to raise you in the Catholic faith. One of the most important signs of Baptism is water. All living things are dependent on water for life and growth. Water is used for cleaning, drinking, cooling, and more. But water can also destroy, like floods. The presider of Baptism is a priest or a deacon. They explain the parent and godparent's responsibility in training their child in the faith. They are asked if they understand that they are called to bring up their child to "Keep God's commandments as Christ taught us, by loving God and our neighbor." The child is anointed with water and the oil of the catechumens and everyone says "Amen." The child is dressed in a white garment symbolizing new life and our dignity as Christians. After the baptism, the priest offers a candle to the parent or godparent to be lit from the large Easter candle in the church. It represents the light of Christ in the newly baptized child. At baptism the Holy Spirit is received so a dove can also be a sign of baptism. More at the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC), paragraphs 1213-1284.