What does a Christening entail?

jtr2803

That might sound like a crazy question but my partners niece is having her son christened next weekend and I am [STRIKE]invited[/STRIKE]expected to go. I am not in any remote sense religious and neither is the childs mum which to me makes a complete mockery of the entire event. I have no idea how long the actual ceremony lasts, whether there will be hymns and I am assuming I am supposed to provide a gift? Is it customary to have some sort of group meal after?

scheming_gypsy

it takes about half an hour in church where you stand there looking bored. what happens after is up to the kids parents, both of the ones i've been to, there's been a party in a booked hall / pub after it's finished.

spaghetti_monster

There are lots of threads on here if you do a search for christening gifts

spaghetti_monster

Also all the ones I've been to have had the sort of church hall/pub do afterwards.

You don't have to look at it in the deepest religious sense I guess.. In a broader way maybe it is a nice way to get everyone together/celebrate arrival of baby. Some people like to have rituals/ceremonies to celebrate these big moments in life.

I'm not religious, neither is OH and we have 8 month old and we get asked quite a lot (by older relatives mostly) when we will be getting him christened..... ummmm not (like we already told you all several times!)

margaretclare

A christening is actually called a baptism service. That means, a child is welcomed as a member of that particular church, part of Christianity.

The form it will take will depend on which church it is.

We've been to a couple of christening services by accident, when we were having a weekend away and went to the local parish church. Both times it was a lovely occasion. The whole congregation gets to welcome the child and participate in the vows, promising to support the parents/godparents in bringing up the child in the Christian faith. In our own church (Methodist) the minister usually carries the baby around and everyone gets to say 'hello and welcome'.

Obviously then there can be a private celebration or party afterwards for just the family.

That said, I don't see how the child's parents can participate in the ceremony, make vows which commit them to bringing up the child as a Christian, if they have no sort of belief at all.

jtr2803

Thank you all for your replies, I am certainly relieved to hear I won't have to spend that long in a church.

We have not received any sort of official invitation so I have no idea if there are plans for a continued celebration after the actual ceremony.

If I thought there was any way I could politely decline the invitation then I would but realistically, I am going to have to go and suck it up!

go_cat

Being a bit cynical as your partners neice is not religious... are they getting the child christened in the hope of attending a certain school where being christened is a criteria ?

jtr2803

go_cat wrote: »

Being a bit cynical as your partners neice is not religious... are they getting the child christened in the hope of attending a certain school where being christened is a criteria ?

I can say without any doubt...NO this would not be a reason, this sort of thing would not even have been considered.

Nicki

We've been members of two different denominations, and in both the baptism takes place as part of the normal church service, either morning or evening service. So whilst the baptism part only takes 20 minutes or so, you are expected to attend the whole service which will be between 1 and 1.5 hours long, and usually with hymns too! In my experience, it isn't usually done as a stand-alone thing like a wedding or funeral.

Yes there will usually be a party or meal afterwards, particularly if the parents aren't religious, as this is then why they are doing it And in those circumstances a gift will be expected but as they aren't religious and apparently don't have any plans to bring the child up in a faith, you don't need to agonise as to what to buy. Anything suitable for a baby of that age will fit the bill, or a keepsake item if you like that kind of thing.

jtr2803

Thanks Nicki....

My other half seems to think it is at 1pm so I don't see how it fits into a normal service?! I think I will have to get him to check the whole thing, I am hoping he may have got it wrong and it is a baby naming ceremony (which I have no problem with) but as he himself asked why on earth it was being held in a church when no one is religious makes me think otherwise.

Nicki

jtr2803 wrote: »

Thanks Nicki....

My other half seems to think it is at 1pm so I don't see how it fits into a normal service?! I think I will have to get him to check the whole thing, I am hoping he may have got it wrong and it is a baby naming ceremony (which I have no problem with) but as he himself asked why on earth it was being held in a church when no one is religious makes me think otherwise.

Could it be in the church just because it has a big enough public room which is available to hire? Lots of my friends have birthday parties, etc for children and adults in churches for this reason. Not all churches have separate halls, some have rooms in the same building as the church itself.

The timing would fit with that. Church services in the morning between 10 and 12, and in the evening between 5 and 7, so rooms available for use between those times?