Baptism
The Cathedral arranges for periodic baptisms at the Sunday services. While we try to respond to individual families needs in the timing of baptisms we cannot offer baptisms on demand.
Baptism is not only about the recognition of a person as a child of God, it is also statement about the place that person has within the family of God. In the middle of the last century the common practice was to conduct baptisms as a small private affair with only family gathered on a Sunday afternoon. Then a whole new understanding emerged where we saw baptism as the ordination of the person into a ministry of all believers. As such it made no sense to conduct the baptism with the company of believers excluded from participating. For this reason, all baptisms now are undertaken at Sunday morning services.
We understand that the sacrament of Baptism is a gift of relationship with God and as such no one can deserve such a relationship. When a child or adult becomes baptized, they have the same stature in the eyes of God as an archbishop or a famous saint. While a small baby can not be expected to understand the importance of the bible or Christian morality they find themselves in the same pathway of eternal life as the most respected holy man or woman.
Our hope is that families become part of the Cathedral community long before the issue of baptism arises. However, the event of Baptism can often be the starting point for a more active life in the church.
Some congregations require parents and godparents to attend baptismal preparation classes that run over several weeks which attempt to underline the importance of this step. The cathedral does have a time of preparation usually the morning before the baptism. Helping someone to follow a Christian life is a lifetime of learning for the person, their family and the church. The cathedral tries to encourage that life long learning in Christian discipleship. We think it important that each child grow up knowing their Christian family.
We have a dedicated and talented group of people who provide leadership in
Children’s ministry. A full description of that ministry is available elsewhere in this website.
Another departure from the practice of forty of fifty years ago is that children are encouraged to share in the Communion or Eucharist. Again none of us deserve the sacrament of communion nor can we fully understand the mystery of Christ’s presence in this act around the altar. We have found that children, even very young children, come to understand that they truly are included and not just tolerated in what used to be seen as an adult activity. Actually the gift of wonder that children have about the worship helps us adults get more in touch with the mystery of God’s love for us all.
From time to time, we offer a short preparation series for children and parents on children receiving communion.
Godparents or sponsors
There are many family traditions around the selection of Godparents for children being baptized. As Godparents provide the context of faith by which the baptism is to take place, it is essential that Godparents are themselves baptized. In choosing Godparents parents often want to honour close friends or family members. However, some consideration should be given to the kind of relationship this person is apt to have with your child. It is a sad thing when children grow up not even knowing who their godparents are. Ways need to be found to allow the relationship between Godchild and God parent to flourish. Of all the relationships a child has with older people this relationship can be one of the most precious. This relationship can also flourish by long distance.
The custom is to choose 2 godparents – one Godmother and one Godfather or to choose 3 Godparents with the third being the same gender as the child. Indeed there are no hard and fast rules as to the number or gender of Godparents. Some parents choose to assume the responsibilities themselves and not have any godparents.
It is also possible to select Godparents who will not be able to attend the baptism but who are willing to write the Dean and declare that they have been baptized and are willing to assume the responsibilities of the godparent for the child to be baptized. Their name will be entered into the baptismal register and on the baptismal certificate that is given to the child (parents).
In any case we like the godparents to have a conversation with the parents about how they would like to function as a godparent. This would be the case for either long distance or local godparents.
The Dean is aware that we haven’t provided many resources to assist godparents in establishing that very special relationship with their godchild. He is presently working on a book about that relationship. He is searching out descriptions from people who had a wonderful relationship with their own Godparent or their godchild. He would be very grateful if you have anything to share.
One of the initiatives the cathedral has done is to have a godparent/godchild Sunday when every godchild is invited to bring their godparent and every godparent invited to bring their godchild. At that Sunday, we give thanks for this relationship to each godparent and child. They are given the chance to uphold each other in prayer. Some arrangements are made for those who can’t be there by virtue of distance. For those who can be there it is suggested that they spend the rest of the day together – go to lunch – horseback riding – whatever.
Baptisms of those who live out of town
Sometimes parents like to return to the cathedral to have their children baptized even though they live far from Kelowna. We try to respond to such requests but we don’t want to frustrate their local parish from having an opportunity to know the family and describe what they do for the nurture of Christian families. For that reason we require out of town families to make contact with their local parish priest and secure their permission for the cathedral to proceed with the baptism. It would be improper for the cathedral to usurp this pastoral opportunity from the local church.
Adult Baptism
Much of the forgoing relates to the baptism of infants or young children. The process is slightly different for older children and adults. In an infant baptism the statement of faith is provided by parents and godparents. When an adult is to be baptized they are required to make their own statement of faith. It is unfair to expect anyone to take this step without having a chance to survey exactly what a Christian believes. Thus before we proceed with a baptism of an adult, we provide an opportunity for those interested to participate in what we call an enquirers group. The point of the group is to enquire. No assumption is made that the person will proceed with baptism until they have had a chance to be sure it is a step they would like to make.
How to start – simply phone the parish office at 762-3321 and the staff will arrange a time when it is possible to have a conversation with the Dean.
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