christening for a not-exactly christian family

[Moomin]

Dh and I are not religious but we are trying to bring our dds up in a 'moral' way, as i guess most people are, i.e. do unto others, etc. when dd1 was born we wanted to mark her birth but didn't want a church christening so had a naming party and chose 2 'god'parents. it was a great day.

last easter i went to a close friend's baby's christening and for the first time ever in attending a religious service, i found it very moving and i found myslf thinking that i wanted that feeling of togetherness and belonging for dd. i was pg at the time so it might have been the hormones (!) but i started off thinking about what i believed in and why this service might have affected me so much.

after much thought now, i have decided that i probably DO want the girls christened but as a non-churchgoer i really don't want to be a hypocrite about it. i started off questioning all this last year on this thread , which i found very useful and interesting.

the other day i went to see the vicar from my MIL's parish (she's not a regular church-goer but a member of the wives' group) to talk to him. i picked him because i was sure he'd have some interesting things to say about how we live as christians and how to interpret the bible, as he's gay, so i guess he's had quite a lot to contend with! He was a lovely chap and a lot of what he said made sense. he said that no-one has the answers but if we live our lives in a 'christian' way and we strive to help others then there's a place for us in the CofE. He said the vicar in my own parish was someone he thought i'd get on with so I'm meeting with him tomorrow to discuss some more things, including maybe the girls' christening.

Would you consider a naming ceremony? It can be conducted by a member of the Humanist scociety you do pay a fee but it goes to relief funds you can get info here www.humanism.org.uk the ceremonies are lovely and totaly non offencive to race,culture or religion! I hope you find what you can be happy with

what a heartwarming posting! I think a lot of people don't actually realise they are missing out on the spiritual side of life until they get a taste of it - it is so enriching IMO.My dd2 is being christened in 2 weeks and I can't wait, dd1's baptism was wonderful.
Your mil's vicar was probably a good place to start.Much of the CofE church is flexible these days...and also, the community element is lovely, dd2 goes to sunday school every week, there is a creche for theyounger ones - all good fun!
I hope you do get your dds Christened because it will mean so much to you i'm sure!

Saw the vicar this morning. He was very patient as i waffled on for ages. We boiled it down to the idea that everyone has a 'God-shaped hole' in them (stick with me here!) and we fill it with all sorts of different things: worship of material things, football teams, our family, life, humans, etc. but it all respresents the need to love and be loved and to have faith in something. He was really understanding whe i said i didn't know what was there at the moment but that i felt good about it. we talked about interpretations and mistinterpretations of the bible and christianity and the fact that we're all still asking questions and that the CofE doesn't really claim to have the answer but it might give us a vehicle for finding personal fulfillment. wow...

anyhoo, it was very interesting and WORLDS away from all the negative ideas i've had about christians and the church. so I've said i'll go to the pram service every so often - which i will and i don't feel pressured at all - and also they do a family service once a month and I'll also take the dds to this. a couple of mums at pre-school today said how much they enjoyed this service. I can't honestly say i've 'found' god or anything like that but i'm enjoying the sense of belonging i feel already

Moomin found your thread!

I'm SO pleased that the vicar was helpful and welcoming and that you are feeling positive about the christening. The Church of England is a very broad and wide church and there is always a place for just about anyone with any view on life or what God means.

You seem really happy about the decision you've made and I'm pleased about that - it shows it's the right decision.

One of my favourite christian writers has a lot of writing about how being a Christian is not someone who knows the answers but someone who asks the questions.

what a positive post moomin. I am glad you are developing this feeling of belonging. too often we hear non-christians repeating a lot of the negative generalities about something they are admitting they know little about. when I went to my own dd's baptism classes, I was amazed at what i learnt about the church's theology and how accommodating the church, or at least my priest, was willing to be in welcoming new people to his congregation

hi we are not regular church goers but we do go on some occasions - usualy anniversaries of deaths, easter, xmas etc. i am trying to choose godparents at the moment but i cannot whittle it down at all!has anyone had 5 or more godparents for their own children?

sorry i meant more than 6!