Rector’s Reflections
Wednesday 22nd January 2025
Baptism in Today’s Church: Time for a Change?
In yesterday’s reflections, I shared some thoughts on the idea that baptism and confirmation can be seen in terms of our response to God’s calling. God calls each one of us to serve him, reflecting the particular context of our lives. In baptism and confirmation, we respond to God’s call with a resounding Yes! And we receive God’s gift of the Holy Spirit to help us to explore and live out our particular calling. We can receive God’s calling at any stage in our lives, including as babies or as young children, and this is one of the reasons why the Church has traditionally welcomed Infant Baptism.
This approach to baptism and confirmation places the emphasis firmly on God, and on God’s plans for our future. But does this mean that there is no real role for God’s Church in managing and controlling the process of baptism and confirmation?
I wish to explore this question in todays’ reflections. We have seen that some people in practice exclude God completely from the business of baptism and confirmation: it’s all about membership of the local congregation or increasing the number of people going to church. We have also seen that others would go to other extreme, and exclude the Church authorities from controlling baptism and confirmation: it’s all about God’s action in the peoples’ lives, and the Church’s role is limited to not getting in the way. But might there be a middle way?
Some would be very much in favour of the middle way. This means that while we preserve the role of God’s initiative and call, we recognise the fact that the Church can play a helpful and significant role in helping men and women discern and respond to that call. So we can picture God sowing the seed of baptism and confirmation, and the Church caring and nurturing that seed so that it comes to fruition. It is a middle way, because it pictures God and the Church authorities co-operating and working together.
The Roman Catholic Church has developed an elaborate and multi-stage process to try and put this idea into practice. The process as a whole is called The Rite of Church Initiation for Adults, which is often known by its initials : RCIA . The aim is to place baptism and confirmation within the context of a longer and deeper spiritual journey, which has many stages, each one of which can be recognised and celebrated in a special church service. Teenagers and adults preparing for baptism and confirmation are expected to undergo a serious process of Christian formation, known as Catechesis. While they are undergoing this process of formation, they are known as Catechumens, and they are supported and encouraged by heir families, friends and sponsors.
This Roman Catholic approach seeks to return to the practice of the Early Church, and it has much to recommend it. It provides plenty of space to recognise and celebrate the reality of God’s work in people’s lives. It provides a wonderful opportunity to grow in understanding of what it might mean to try and live our lives as followers of Jesus Christ.
Should this approach also be adopted by the Church of England? Some would say yes, while others are not so sure. On a practical level, it involves a lot of planning and a lot of resources. It might work in a well-resourced church with plenty of clergy and plenty of volunteers. It also assumes that people seeking baptism and confirmation are willing to buy into a long and involved programme of instruction and preparation. The programme itself will undoubtedly be well thought out and eminently worthwhile, but does it ask too much of people living very busy lives, having to juggle Church life with the claims of family and work? Is it simply unrealistic?
Should the Church of England move towards the approach currently favoured by the Roman Catholic Church, which places baptism and confirmation firmly within a much longer programme of Christian education and formation, it will require a lot more work, and it might very well lead to fewer baptisms and confirmations taking place. But should we be bothered about this? Might the benefits outweigh the disadvantages? What do you think?
In tomorrow’s reflections, I will begin to share some general thoughts by way of conclusion, and also share my own particular viewpoint on some of the topics we have discussed.