christenings

[Mimmy]

do both parents and/or godparents have to be christened first in order to have children done too?My husband has been,but I haven`t, will the church still let us christen/baptise our 2 boys?Also, I would like my brother as godfather,is this allowed? He is under 18 years old and also not baptised himself.

[silly moo]

It possibly depends on the denomination of church.
In theory Church of England godparents must be baptised, but my un baptised husband was godfather.
I do hate the expression 'having them done'
Baptism is much too important to be flippant.
Do you want your child to be a member of a church?
Do you believe in God?
Can you honestly make the vows in church that you have to in the baptism service/
If so then great - speak to your local vicar / priest.
Good luck and welcome to the church.

[RevShirls]

Depends on the denomination. In the Church of Scotland one parent should be a baptised member of the church and the godparents are not godparents in any legal sense (ie they don't take vows and they are not obliged to become the child's legal guardian or whatever if something should happen to the parents).

You should as silly moo says, chat to the minister/vicar about this.

Just a wee question. Why do you want your boys to be baptised? I know many people feel pressurised by families, friends etc into having their child baptised. I have always regarded it as a sign of welcome into the church. If the church isn't so important to you then don't feel you should have them baptised. I view baptism as a free gift from God and a welcome into the Christian community.I have never seen it dependent on the vows that the parents take. In fact, I always use the order of baptism used by the French Reformed Church and baptise the baby before I ask the parents to make some promises. The questions I usually ask the parents during the service (after I have baptised the wee one) are:

Do you promise to give honour to God by loving and caring for (name) that he/she may be brought up in a nurturing and supportive environment?
Do you also promise as far as you are able to build your family life on the love and truth that Christ has shown us?

It does vary from church to church.

[netibiza]

I am Anglican (very high church) my husband comes from jewish stock although does not believe in any god - but we were allowed to have out daughter christened and this was because I wanted her to have a faith until she was old enough to choose - she has since decided that she is not bothered - fine that is her choice and I stand by that choice although I could not have done without my belief during my life.

[Mimmy]

My husband is church of England and would like his sons baptised as he was. I was hoping my not being baptised wouldn`t affect the chances of being allowed to have our boys baptised too.We spoke to the vicar and he said it would be ideal if I was baptised along with the boys.I believe in God but don`t feel the need to go to church to worship, I wasn`t brought up with the church like my husband was.I worship in my own way.I think it would be hypocritical if I was to be baptised just because my boys were.My husband knows I don`t have a problem with them being baptised, if that is what he wants.

[RevShirls]

Stick to your principles, Mimmy. I respect what you say. There is no way that the vicar should pressurise you into being baptised. Perhaps your husband could say "yes" to the Christian/faith parts of the vows during the service and the vicar could also have vows that include the areas you both agree on. Just a thought!

You will probbly be at the front of the church anyway during the service and it is difficult for the people in the congregation to know who (which of the parents) is saying "yes" to what.