Best place to get a baby baptised?

grizzly

In the Dublin area. Do I just rock up to any church? Also is cheaper in some places.

keano_afc

grizzly wrote: »

In the Dublin area. Do I just rock up to any church? Also is cheaper in some places.

Are you a member of a parish?

To be honest, if you're asking these questions, are you sure its something you want to do?

martinedwards

what he said.

go to your own church.

umop apisdn

grizzly wrote: »

In the Dublin area. Do I just rock up to any church? Also is cheaper in some places.

You'll find your "Christian" piss up afterwards a lot more expensive.

Mrs OBumble

What denomination are you after - ie Catholic, CoI, Methodist, etc?

I cannot speak for others, but in my parish you certainly don't just rock up. Needs to be booked weeks in advance, and you need to do a preparation course. Oh ... and you are asked to promise to bring the kid up in the church.

katydid

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

What denomination are you after - ie Catholic, CoI, Methodist, etc?

I cannot speak for others, but in my parish you certainly don't just rock up. Needs to be booked weeks in advance, and you need to do a preparation course. Oh ... and you are asked to promise to bring the kid up in the church.

Ah now, that's all a bit over the top, surely?

lottpaul

katydid wrote: »

Ah now, that's all a bit over the top, surely?

Just to add to the discussion - the following is a quote from a recent newsletter (July 12th) in a parish in the diocese of Kerry. I don't know if it's a new policy, specific to just one parish etc or just a re-stating of existing diocesan policy.

"Parents are invited to contact the Parochial House on 066- XXXXXXX to arrange advance booking and registration with a photocopy of the child’s Birth Certificate.
First-time parents must attend a Pre-Baptism talk.
All Godparents are to be Catholics, confirmed and aged 16 or over, who practise their Faith regularly. Parents who live outside the Parish must present a letter of consent from the Parish Priest of the Parish of their residence in advance."

From this it would definitely seem that you don't just turn up, but I wonder how fully these are insisted upon. I've never heard of e.g. vetting of Godparents to determine if they are regular Mass goers, letters of consent etc but maybe someone will have more information.

katydid

lottpaul wrote: »

Just to add to the discussion - the following is a quote from a recent newsletter (July 12th) in a parish in the diocese of Kerry. I don't know if it's a new policy, specific to just one parish etc or just a re-stating of existing diocesan policy.

"Parents are invited to contact the Parochial House on 066- XXXXXXX to arrange advance booking and registration with a photocopy of the child’s Birth Certificate.
First-time parents must attend a Pre-Baptism talk.
All Godparents are to be Catholics, confirmed and aged 16 or over, who practise their Faith regularly. Parents who live outside the Parish must present a letter of consent from the Parish Priest of the Parish of their residence in advance."

From this it would definitely seem that you don't just turn up, but I wonder how fully these are insisted upon. I've never heard of e.g. vetting of Godparents to determine if they are regular Mass goers, letters of consent etc but maybe someone will have more information.

Most of it
seems fair enough. Not quite sure why they want the birth cert, though. I mean, it's kind of clear that the baby has been born.

Having said that, I disagree with the idea that god parents must be Roman Catholic. Baptism is a Christian sacrament, not a RC sacrament, and all that should count is that the godparent is a practicing and believing Christian who would take responsibility for the religious upbringing of the child.
I am not RC, and I am my niece's godmother. She's an adult now, but I always saw it as my responsibility, should anything have happened to her parents, to make sure she was brought up in the RCC until such time as she was old enough to make up her own mind. I was her sponsor at her confirmation, and I consider my role as godparent and sponsor an honour and an important duty.

No one ever asked me what Christian denomination I was...

Peregrinus

The rule, strictly speaking, is that there should be at least one godparent who is a confirmed and practising Catholic. There can be any number of further godparents (who should be confirmed and practising Catholics) and any number of "Christian witnesses" (who can be people baptised in any Christian tradition). Godparents and Christian witnesses are commonly referred to together as "godparents", collapsing the distinction.

katydid

Peregrinus wrote: »

The rule, strictly speaking, is that there should be at least one godparent who is a confirmed and practising Catholic. There can be any number of further godparents (who should be confirmed and practising Catholics) and any number of "Christian witnesses" (who can be people baptised in any Christian tradition). Godparents and Christian witnesses are commonly referred to together as "godparents", collapsing the distinction.

My niece had two godparents; her godfather is nominally Roman Catholic but only sees the inside of a church at weddings and funerals, and I, the godmother, am a practicing Anglican, involved in lay ministry...go figure.

No one ever asked either of us about our religious beliefs or commitment, nor did they suggest that only Roman Catholics could be godparents.

I don't think the letter of the law holds much sway in these matters.

hinault

lottpaul wrote: »

Just to add to the discussion - the following is a quote from a recent newsletter (July 12th) in a parish in the diocese of Kerry. I don't know if it's a new policy, specific to just one parish etc or just a re-stating of existing diocesan policy.

"Parents are invited to contact the Parochial House on 066- XXXXXXX to arrange advance booking and registration with a photocopy of the child’s Birth Certificate.
First-time parents must attend a Pre-Baptism talk.
All Godparents are to be Catholics, confirmed and aged 16 or over, who practise their Faith regularly. Parents who live outside the Parish must present a letter of consent from the Parish Priest of the Parish of their residence in advance."

From this it would definitely seem that you don't just turn up, but I wonder how fully these are insisted upon. I've never heard of e.g. vetting of Godparents to determine if they are regular Mass goers, letters of consent etc but maybe someone will have more information.

I was asked to be godparent by my brother and his wife to their new arrival, earlier this year.
Their parish is on the northside.

To be a godparent their priest informed them that both godparents must be baptised Catholics and be practicing Catholics.

eviltwin

What's a parent to do if they have no practicing Catholic people to call on I only know one person who is a regular mass goer. What then?

katydid

eviltwin wrote: »

What's a parent to do if they have no practicing Catholic people to call on I only know one person who is a regular mass goer. What then?

You only need one godparent...

eviltwin

katydid wrote: »

You only need one godparent...

What if you don't have anyone suitable? Actually, my daughter's godmother has since converted to Islam. I wonder can she still be considered a godmother.

katydid

eviltwin wrote: »

Actually, my daughter's godmother has since converted to Islam. I wonder can she still be considered a godmother.

Interesting point!

Peregrinus

katydid wrote: »

. . . No one ever asked either of us about our religious beliefs or commitment, nor did they suggest that only Roman Catholics could be godparents . . .

A common approach by priests is to advise the parents of the requirements about godparents, and then leave it up to the parents to select godparents in accordance with the requirements. Strictly speaking, this is correct; canon law is explicit that, in the case of an infant baptism, it's the responsibility of the parents to choose the godparents, not the priest. And of course this makes sense; the parents, after all, know the prospective and possible godparents better than the priest does (he typically doesn't know them at all) and so are better positioned to choose suitably.

Of course, parents may decide to ignore the requirements they are told about and to nominate godparents who don't meet them (or, to take the requirements seriously but relax them a little to meet the requirements of the particular case). Priests are aware of this possibility, but don't consider it's their function, or even their right, to nanny the parents and second-guess their decisions.

So, you may not have been asked about your beliefs or commitment, katydid. But the likelihood is that the parents of your godchild were advised of the requirements, and they made their decision based both on their knowledge of the requirements and on their knowledge of you.

katydid

Peregrinus wrote: »

A common approach by priests is to advise the parents of the requirements about godparents, and then leave it up to the parents to select godparents in accordance with the requirements. Strictly speaking, this is correct; canon law is explicit that, in the case of an infant baptism, it's the responsibility of the parents to choose the godparents, not the priest. And of course this makes sense; the parents, after all, know the prospective and possible godparents better than the priest does (he typically doesn't know them at all) and so are better positioned to choose suitably.

Of course, parents may decide to ignore the requirements they are told about and to nominate godparents who don't meet them (or, to take the requirements seriously but relax them a little to meet the requirements of the particular case). Priests are aware of this possibility, but don't consider it's their function, or even their right, to nanny the parents and second-guess their decisions.

So, you may not have been asked about your beliefs or commitment, katydid. But the likelihood is that the parents of your godchild were advised of the requirements, and they made their decision based both on their knowledge of the requirements and on their knowledge of you.

I'll ask my brother. It was 22 years ago, he might remember :-)

Mrs OBumble

eviltwin wrote: »

What's a parent to do if they have no practicing Catholic people to call on I only know one person who is a regular mass goer. What then?

Well you could try going to church and getting to know some of the people there.

Seems kinda reasonable, given that you're asking the church to baptise the kid, and one of the things you'll be affirming is that you will bring the kid up in the church.

eviltwin

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

Well you could try going to church and getting to know some of the people there.

Seems kinda reasonable, given that you're asking the church to baptise the kid, and one of the things you'll be affirming is that you will bring the kid up in the church.

I take that point but I think there are lots of qualities that make someone a good godparent. Religion and devotion to the church is just one aspect of it. I don't think people should feel pressure to go against their gut instinct for godparent just on the say so of a priest. Going to mass doesn't guarantee suitability.

katydid

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

Well you could try going to church and getting to know some of the people there.

Seems kinda reasonable, given that you're asking the church to baptise the kid, and one of the things you'll be affirming is that you will bring the kid up in the church.

And what's to say you wouldn't do that even if you didn't go to the church yourself? My niece/goddaughter is RC. I'm not. If something had happened her parents and I was the one left to care for her, I would have ensured that she was brought up in the church.

katydid

eviltwin wrote: »

I take that point but I think there are lots of qualities that make someone a good godparent. Religion and devotion to the church is just one aspect of it. I don't think people should feel pressure to go against their gut instinct for godparent just on the say so of a priest. Going to mass doesn't guarantee suitability.

I agree with all that you say, but I'm just a bit puzzled. If someone knows only one practising Roman Catholic, that means they mustn't go to Mass very often themselves, or they would know more people who did the same, surely?

If that were the case, why would they want their child to be baptised in the first place?

I know the idea is that the godparent has a close connection with the family, but if you are a regular mass goer, surely there would be someone in the congregation you would know well enough to ask? Or that might offer if they knew you had no close relations or friends who qualified?

eviltwin

katydid wrote: »

I agree with all that you say, but I'm just a bit puzzled. If someone knows only one practising Roman Catholic, that means they mustn't go to Mass very often themselves, or they would know more people who did the same, surely?

If that were the case, why would they want their child to be baptised in the first place?

I know the idea is that the godparent has a close connection with the family, but if you are a regular mass goer, surely there would be someone in the congregation you would know well enough to ask? Or that might offer if they knew you had no close relations or friends who qualified?

They could be a recent convert or all their friends or family might have fallen away from the church. It's not unusual. I have a friend who has kept her faith, none of her siblings or friends have. She knows people from the church but I'd imagine if she ever had children she would want someone she's close to. Most people getting kids baptised don't go to mass regularly so they probably won't have those close associations with people in the church. A godparent should be someone you know well, have a relationship with and trust with all aspects of your child's life, not just their religious life. I wouldn't expect anyone to pick a virtual stranger.

katydid

eviltwin wrote: »

They could be a recent convert or all their friends or family might have fallen away from the church. It's not unusual. I have a friend who has kept her faith, none of her siblings or friends have. She knows people from the church but I'd imagine if she ever had children she would want someone she's close to. Most people getting kids baptised don't go to mass regularly so they probably won't have those close associations with people in the church. A godparent should be someone you know well, have a relationship with and trust with all aspects of your child's life, not just their religious life. I wouldn't expect anyone to pick a virtual stranger.

Fair enough. I suppose I was thinking more of people who have no interest in religion themselves rather than occasional church goers.

eviltwin

katydid wrote: »

Fair enough. I suppose I was thinking more of people who have no interest in religion themselves rather than occasional church goers.

People like that shouldn't be baptising their kids in the first place but that's a whole other thread :pac: