Emergency Baptism
1. In an emergency, a lay person may be the minister of
baptism, and should subsequently inform those who have the
pastoral responsibility for the person so baptized.
2.
Parents are responsible for requesting emergency baptism for an
infant. They should be assured that questions of ultimate
salvation or of the provision of a Christian funeral for an
infant who dies do not depend upon whether or not the child has
been baptized.
3. Before baptizing, the minister should ask the name of the
person to be baptized. When, through the absence of parents or
for some other reason, there is uncertainty as to the name of
the person, the baptism can be properly administered without a
name (so long as the identity of the person baptized can be
duly recorded).
The following form is sufficient.
The minister pours water on the person to be
baptized, saying
I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The minister may then say the Lord's Prayer
and the Grace or a blessing.
If it is appropriate, some of the following
may also be used.
BEFORE THE BAPTISM
Jesus says: I have come that you may have life
and have it in all its fullness. John 10.10
All that the Father gives me will come to me;
and whoever comes to me I will not turn away. John
6.37
The Lord is near to the brokenhearted,
and saves the crushed in spirit. Psalm 34.18
Heavenly Father,
grant that by your Holy Spirit
this child may be born again
and know your love in the new creation
given us in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
At the Signing with the Cross
N, may Christ protect and defend you.
Receive the sign of his cross.
Prayer over the Water
Heavenly Father,
bless this water,
that whoever is washed in it
may be made one with Christ
in the fellowship of your Church,
and be brought through every tribulation
to share the risen life
that is ours in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
AFTER THE
BAPTISM
Our Father ...
Eternal God, our beginning and our end,
preserve in your people the new life of baptism;
as Christ receives us on earth,
so may he guide us through the trials of this world,
and enfold us in the joy of heaven,
where you live and reign,
one God for ever and ever. Amen.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the love of God,
and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all.
Amen.
or
May God almighty,
the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit,
bless and keep you this day and for ever more.
Amen.
Notes
1. If the person lives,
they shall afterwards come to church, or be brought to church,
and the service for Holy Baptism
followed, except that the Signing with the Cross, the Prayer
over the Water and the Baptism are omitted.
2. It may be appropriate to use the form of thanksgiving given
here.
3. At the Presentation the president says
We welcome N, who has been baptized and now comes to take his/her place in the company of God's people.
4. Oil mixed with fragrant spices (traditionally called chrism), expressing the blessings of the messianic era and the richness of the Holy Spirit, may be used to accompany the prayer after the baptism. It is appropriate that the oil should have been consecrated by the bishop.
©
The Archbishops' Council of the Church of England, 2000-2004
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