For parents, the arrival of a baby in the family is one of life’s most joyful events. Children are such a beautiful gift that it is natural to want to give thanks and seek God’s blessing on this new life. Children also make parents aware of their responsibility to bring them up to the best of their ability. They look to the Church for help in doing this, aware perhaps that ‘the family that prays together, stays together’. Christian Baptism is more than this, though. It is also a graced sign of God’s love. Through the waters of baptism we enter into the mystery of Christ’s dying and rising. As such, baptism is the rite of entry into membership of the Church by which we become children of God.

Baptism preparation courses are organised three times a year to gather together parents who want to be prepared for their children’s baptism. This way you can meet and get to know other couples at the same stage in their lives as yourselves. In a warm and friendly parish such as we have at Belper and Duffield, it is easy to make friends. Normally the courses are held after the 11am Mass on a Sunday for two consecutive weeks. They will help you understand what baptism is all about and give you an outline of the rite of Baptism. Once the preparation sessions have been held, dates can then be arranged for your child’s baptism.

At the first session there will be no formal instruction