WEBVTT

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I'm Anna, and I was
baptised when I was 13

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in a Church of England,
or Anglican Church.

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Some churches baptise babies to
welcome them into Christianity,

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others only baptise people

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when they're old enough to make
the decision for themselves.

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When I was a baby,
instead of baptising me,

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my parents decided to give
me a service of Dedication,

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which means that they said that
they'd bring me up in a Christian home

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and tell me about what
they thought of God,

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but that they'd leave it to me
to decide whether I believed

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and wanted to live by that faith or not.

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As I grew up I asked a lot of questions,

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and I came to the conclusion that
I did believe that it was true.

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So when they were doing
baptisms at church

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I thought it would be
a good opportunity

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to make a proper and public
commitment to God.

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It's very common in Anglican
churches to baptise infants.

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I've come to St. John
the Evangelist Church,

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to talk to the Associate Vicar,
Rachel Hawes and find out more.

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All religions have ceremonies,

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we call them Initiation Rites, which
mark people's entry into the religion

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and so baptism for Christians

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is the important ceremony or initiation
rite into the Christian faith

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and it has been from the very
beginning of Christianity.

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So, what happens in a typical
Anglican infant baptism?

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We do it in the main service,

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and the parents will come
to the font with the baby,

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and the font's the name for
whatever we put the water in,

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and this, which we're
standing by, is our font.

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The first thing that
happens in baptism,

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is that we have a series of promises.

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Now, when adults are baptised they
make these promises for themselves,

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but when a baby is baptised,

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obviously they're too young
to make the promises,

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so their parents and their godparents

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make the promises on their behalf.

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Will you pray for her,

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draw her by your example
into the community of faith

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and walk with her in
the way of Christ?

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With the help of God we will.

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In baptism, this child
begins her journey of faith.

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You speak for her today.

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Will you care for her and
help her to take her place

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within the life and worship
of Christ's Church?

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With the help of God we will.

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Then the second very important
picture or image in baptism

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is the Signing with the Cross.

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We have holy oil, and so
the priest will take the oil,

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and dip their thumb in it and sign
the baby on the forehead and say,

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'Christ claims you for his own,
receive the sign of his Cross'.

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We offer the oil to all the
parents and godparents

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so that they too can dip their thumb
in and sign the baby on the forehead.

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Then we come to the water.

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Water is obviously central
to the service of baptism,

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and we pour the water into
the font at that point,

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and usually here we ask one
of the parents or godparents

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to pour the water in so that
everybody can see it going in

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and then the priest will bless it.

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Now, sanctify this water,

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that by the power of your Holy Spirit

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they may be cleansed
from sin and born again.

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Then they will use
it to baptise the child.

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Rosabelle Leah, I baptise thee

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in the name of the Father, and of the
Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

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Amen.

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At the end of the service
we will call the parents

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up to the chancel, that's
where the altar is,

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and we will light a special candle,

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for the baby,

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from the candles on the altar.

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We will give it to
the parents for the baby.

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So obviously a baby is too young
to understand what's going on.

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Could you tell me why a parent might
choose to have their baby baptised?

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We believe that baptism is
not just something we do,

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it's something that God does.

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We believe that God is present
at the baptism and is working in it

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and Christians believe
that as the baby grows,

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God is present with
them and in their lives,

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and that they will come to understand
what has happened to them in baptism.

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Some churches don't allow
infant baptisms at all.

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They wait until the person is old
enough to choose for themselves.

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This is called a 'Believer's Baptism'.

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As a church we practise Believer's Baptism,

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and that's different than some churches

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like the Church of England or
the Roman Catholic Church.

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We believe baptism is for someone
who consciously commits themselves

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to being a disciple of Jesus Christ.

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So how does baptism work
in a Baptist Church?

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Normally, when people want to
get baptised, they come to see me,

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that's usually anyone from early
teenage years and over,

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so all ages.

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They'll come, we'll have baptism class,
we'll take them through 3 sessions

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and explain what baptism is, what
it means for them as a Christian,

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what it means for their
commitment to the church,

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and then there's a time
scheduled for a baptism,

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sometimes it's one person,
sometimes there's a group.

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It will happen here,
this is the Baptistry.

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And what will happen
on a Sunday morning,

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we'll have a congregation here
and at the end of the service

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the person will be asked to come up,

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they'll give what we call their testimony,

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they'll explain how they
became a Christian,

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why they want to get baptised,
what it means for them.

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Learning to trust in him has
changed my life forever.

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Then the person
will come into the pool,

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so they'll come up over here,

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and down into the pool.

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There'll usually be me or one of
the other leaders of the church.

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I'll ask them a
question at that point.

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At your baptism do you profess
repentance towards God,

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and faith in Jesus Christ as
your Lord and Saviour?

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Yes, I do.

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Then upon your profession of
of repentance towards God,

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and faith in Jesus Christ as
your Lord and Saviour,

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we baptise you in the name of the Father,
and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

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Baptism means partly that
you identify with Jesus

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and his death and resurrection,

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and the Bible speaks about how

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someone who trusts in
Jesus, dies with Christ,

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and his death on the cross is
for them and how he rose again,

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and his resurrection is for them as well.

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Baptism is a very
powerful picture of that,

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when you're immersed into water,
going down into death, coming up, life.

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So, as you can see, baptism can
take many different forms.

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Ultimately, it's about
forgiveness and renewal.