Christening and alternative naming ceremonies (merged)

Lillibet_2

Our son was baptized in april (baptism is slightly different again to christening in C of E). I am a church goer, hubby is Pagan. 4 godparents appointed, 2 of each sex & from each side to keep every one happy. Two of them are also appointed as Spuds' legal guardians in the event of anything but this is seperate to being godparents & in our wills. You can have as many or as few godparents as you like, they are responsible for moral & spirtual/religious development. Persoanlly I have never seen the problem with older godparents as long as they understand & are unbiased in spirtual & religious matters & non-judgemental in moral matters. But for legal guardians I would want people who not only have a close & loving relationship with my son but also people who are around our age & in similar circumstances (married, non smokers etc) for obvious reasons.

HTH;)

Gingham_Ribbon

If you want to nominate someone to care for your child if you both die, you need to speak to a solicitor and draw up a will. Godparents have nothing to do with this. Our son's godparents are not the people on our will that would care for our son if we die.

inkie

God parents (ie the people who will care for the Spiritual development of the child) are only required for a religious ceremony i.e. not a 'naming' ceremony, which is a secular event.

Personally, I feel that 'naming ceremonies' are a money making racket - the baby is already given a name at birth.

wigginsmum

I think naming ceremonies and christenings probably fulfil a social role, a rite of passage - officially presenting the kid to the community; after all many parents with no religious beliefs still want their kids to be 'done.' Neither have anything to do with Biblical Christianity, but many people do seem to have a need to make the kid 'official.'

little_miss_thrifty

Hi, we had a Naming Ceremony for our son 3 years ago - mainly because we are not religious and would have felt awkward having a christening just for the status of it.

We had a fantastic day, so did all the guests; 99% saying it was the first Ceremony they had been to. We chose 4 'Supporting Adults' - the equivalent of Godparents; they are all family friends and will be good influences on our son. There were 2 individuals and 1 couple. None of them though are stated to care for him should anything happen to us - it is only specific in a will.

It may have been an expensive day but he was totally worth it considering it took 4 years to fall pregnant with him - we wanted to celebrate him with all our family and friends - and will do so with our daughter next year.

LMT

lapat

my boy has four

these were based on my best man at the wedding and the chief usher
and my wifes 2 bridesmaids as they were all our closest friends

they stood for our wedding so this seemed the best option for us

as for gaurdians we have done something similar to other posts and really close family would look after them if anything happened which is usually natural anyway

Savvy_Sue

Bossyboots wrote:

As far as caring for the child if the parents die, that is not the role of godparents.

Traditionally it was expected that if the parents died while the children were still children, then the godparents WOULD bring them up.

But you're quite right (of course!) that this is no longer the case, it probably never had any legal standing, and now the best thing would be to appoint guardians in your will, or at least state your wishes!

stamford

Any gift suggestions for a friends little boy's Christening most welcome

Rachie_B

i have used https://www.emmas-memories.com for birth and christening gifts lovely albums,samplers,memory boxes etc

is the little boy a baby or a toddler ?

Lillibet_2

Rachie_B wrote:

i have used www.emmas-memories.com for birth and christening gifts lovely albums,samplers,memory boxes etc

is the little boy a baby or a toddler ?

Emma is now at maximum order capacity until after Xmas.

For my sons baptism earlier this year we asked for chairtable donations in his name. There are only so many tacky silver scrolls, hairbrushes, money boxes and bibles that each child needs:p:rolleyes:. I suggest sponsoring a third world child/endangered animal in his name, very much a christian thing to do & in the spirit of the occasion.

If you really are intent on giving a physical gift then a nice copy of a childrens calssic book is probably the best thing & not too much danger of it being duplicated;)