Welcome! We’re thrilled that you’re interested in exploring baptism here at Trinity for yourself or a loved one. Baptisms are joyful and holy occasions both in the lives of families and in the life of the church. Baptism marks the sacramental beginning of an eternal bond with God.

In the simplest of terms, baptism proclaims two things essential to our identity as Christians: that we belong and that we are beloved.

When Jesus was baptized, the heavens opened and he was declared the beloved of God. In our own participation in baptism, God makes a similar declaration, reaching down to us in grace through Christ and proclaiming us the beloved children of God. 

As the rite of full initiation into the Church, baptism is a declaration that we belong – to God and to each other. On every occasion of baptism, the whole parish affirms the covenant made in baptism along with those who are about the be baptized (or their sponsors for infants and small children). It’s a beautiful and holy testament to the truth that we can’t go on the pilgrimage of faith alone. We need each other -- a community of faith, a great cloud of witnesses.  In baptism, we acknowledge not only do we belong to God but that we really do belong to each other as well. It’s why the first thing we say to the newly baptized we do so as a community:  “We receive you into the household of God.” (BCP. 308) 

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All are welcomed to be baptized, from infants to elders, and a member of Trinity’s clergy is available to discuss the particular with you in detail. If an infant or child is to be baptized, parents, guardians, and godparents make promises on the child’s behalf and receive some education from clergy and our children's minister prior to the service.

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In general, the baptismal service (BCP p. 299) is a joyous, celebratory occasion that typically occurs on set days in the Church’s liturgical calendar: the day of Pentecost, All Saints’ Day, the Feast of the Baptism of Our Lord, or whenever a bishop visits.  

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The Episcopal Churches recognizes all baptisms from all Christian denominations as valid and does not make a practice of re-baptizing individuals, preferring “to receive” formally a baptized individual during the service since the Church believes the bond God makes in baptism is indissoluble and trustworthy.