The dictionary defines baptism as, “The sacramental rite which admits candidates to the Christian Church.”  This is its most basic and fundamental meaning.

The practice of baptism in the Church grows out of the memory that Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist, and the belief that Jesus urged his followers to baptize persons into the new “Way”.  When a person is baptized, he or she is received into the Christian Church. As such, baptism is an expression of what Christians believe. Those who believe in God, as made known in Jesus Christ, and who have themselves become part of and are committed to the Body of Christ (the Christian Church) bring their children to be received into that faith family because they want this for their children and wish for them to grow up within the faith family of those who also believe.

Baptism is a celebrating by Christians of the love of God for the people God has created. It is an occasion of joy in the Church, for it is an acting out of the story of that beautiful gift of love which God bestows on us and our children.