Baptism

Holy Baptism

Holy Baptism is full initiation by water and the Holy Spirit into Christ’s Body the Church. We believe the bond which God establishes in Baptism is sacramental. The New Testament offers scriptural precedent for the practice of Baptism. Just as Jesus was baptized with water by John the Baptist, we include people in the community of faith by baptizing them with water. Following a series of questions, responses, and prayers, the priest pours water on the candidate. The sign of the cross may be made on the candidate’s forehead with blessed oil. In our tradition, we baptize individuals of all ages.

We view baptism, like Communion, as more than a symbol; it is a sacrament. That is, God actually does something. In baptism, God’s Spirit adopts a person into the church family. A sacrament is a gift, a place where God meets humanity. It’s an encounter with God in the physicality of this world.

The Anglican tradition takes seriously the biblical language that salvation is not a commodity received at a one-time event in the past, but is rather a reality you enter into and continue to grow in. As the Apostle Paul teaches, you were saved (Eph 2:8), you are being saved (1 Cor 15:2), and you will be saved (Rom 13:11). The Anglican view of baptism fits this view of salvation much more comfortably than those who reduce salvation to a one-time event. If salvation is a process, then baptism, the continual nourishment received from the Lord’s Supper, confirmation, ongoing growth in the faith, and ultimately perseverance are all aspects of this mysterious and yet wonderful gift of God for the sake of the world.