Baptism Matters

Encountering the Church through Baptism

Along with weddings, it is through funerals and baptism that many people experience the church. To give just one example in 2014 there were over 3,400 funerals in churches across the Diocese of Oxford, and if there was an average attendance of 45 people, that would be over 150,000 people coming through our churches’ doors.

Following the first National Funerals Conference in 2015 which was well attended by people from across the diocese , and the presentations given by The Revd Canon Dr Sandra Millar,

Head of Projects and Developments for the Archbishops’ Council, in November 2015, creative ideas and resources to enhance the church’s ministry with the bereaved have been used in a range of ways across the diocese. Discussions have been held with local Funeral Directors as to how we can work well together and the Gravetalk resource has been used in a number of ways including with a group of young people from a Secondary School as part of their work on death, dying and funerals.

In 2016 we are having an emphasis on baptisms with Sandra Millar returning to the diocese to lead a day on Saturday 15th October. The day will include insights from the research on parents’ motivations for and experiences of baptism, ideas on how to make the liturgy have meaning, exploration of all the new resources and the key simple changes that will help families on their journey of faith. The day runs from 9:30am until 4pm, and is open to all clergy and lay people involved in ministry around baptism.