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Original poster

Baptistm for Adults

10 replies

Ripeberry · 21/06/2007 14:55

Hi, Just wondered if its possible for adults to be baptised.
My mum never had me Christened or Baptised when i was little as she wanted me to decide for myself when i was older.
Since having children, i'm starting to think about it but my DH is not religious AT ALL and would not attend anyway.
Do they do baptisms privately or does it have to involve lots of witnesses.
Just wondering
AB

OP posts:

musicianswidowAKAmumofmonsters · 21/06/2007 14:57

yes adults can be baptised. it usally (IME anyway) involves full immersion but obviously you would haveto contact your local church to ask them. I think as an adult you are supposed to take classes to "prove" you want to be baptised in their holy spirit

nuttygirl · 21/06/2007 14:58

Yes, adults can be baptised, certainly.

I had my baby christened earlier this month and my husband got christened at the same time. Most baptism's are done during a normal service so there would be people there but the church I went to would have done a private service if we'd wanted. You usually have to do some reading/preparation with the vicar to show you understand the meaning of baptism IYSWIM.

WigWamBam · 21/06/2007 14:58

I was baptised as an adult (no longer have that faith, but that's another story).

Whether you have a private baptism or one in front of a congregation is up to the minister - you'd need to have a chat with him or her. You'd certainly need sponsors (the adult version of godparents).

Be prepared for them to want you to attend a course of Bible study for a while first.

nuttygirl · 21/06/2007 15:00

At my church they just used water from the font because my baby was being christened at the same time. Otherwise DH could have been baptised (full emersion) in the lake, the river or they could bring in a special pool.

BellaLasagne · 21/06/2007 15:00

Yes, definitely!

You can be baptised at a normal service without personal witnesses, the congregation takes part in the service with you but you don't need to have anyone supporting you from that point of view. I'm sure you could be baptised privately, i.e. on your own, but it would depend on the priest.

We very often have parents being baptised in our church (CofE) with their babies, which is lovely!

If you know a priest, or know of one, go for a chat. I'm sure they'd be delighted to advise!

Marina · 21/06/2007 15:08

Second Bella's post. We have had adult baptisms in our morning (C of E) services and it's always been a happy, supportive, low-key occasion. You can of course opt to be done by appointment with the vicar but I think you would be very cheered by other members of the church wishing you well and welcoming you

harrisey · 21/06/2007 15:56

I was baptised as an adult in March.

In a Baptist church it would be a ful immersion in the service. We did it (me and dh) and it was awesome. One of the most amazing experiences of my life (and I had been christened as a baby but had come to believe that wasn't valid as neither me nor my parents believed at the time). You have to do baptism classes so they are sure you are ready for this commitment as it is a big one!

I think an Anglical church would do it as a pvt service, but you would have to do the clases I would think.

I think you need to consider, as we did, why you want to do this. Is it just a ritual you go through (our church recently turned down people who wanted it done for this reason) or is it out of a genuine beleif and devotion to CHrist? It is a big step, I think, it was for me anywy and I had ben a Christian for 20 years, just not in a church that woul dbaptise adults.

If you want to discuss the ins and outs of it all, please feel frree to ask more or CAT me, I could talk about it admauseum!

harrisey · 21/06/2007 16:19

Here's my agonising on it, in another thread here is my baptism thread

bobsmum · 21/06/2007 16:21

You don't have to be baptised in a church setting if you're not comfy with that.

Dh and his mates baptised folks at uni in the campus fountain. Still counts I think

WigWamBam · 21/06/2007 16:23

I was baptised in a sheep dip ... which might explain a lot It was the only way they could get anything big enough into the Church to do a total immersion in. They didn't do it as a private service, they did several baptisms and a sackload of confirmations at the same time.

Anglican churches will do total immersion as well as just a splash from the font, but that's entirely up to you.

Doing the classes will help you work out whether this really is an act of faith and whether it's really something that's right for you at this time, so it would be worth doing them for that reason alone - even if you then decide that it's not for you.

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