Organising a Baptism within the Benefice of Beaulieu,
Exbury and East Boldre
If you live within the parishes of Beaulieu, Exbury and East Boldre then we are happy to arrange the baptism of your child and we are pleased to welcome him or her into our Christian Community.
Baptisms occur as follows:
1st Sunday of the month: St Paul’s*, East Boldre, 11.15am/after the morning service.
2nd Sunday: No baptisms
3rd Sunday: Beaulieu Abbey Church, currently held at 11am.
4th Sunday: St Katharine's*, Exbury, 11.15am/after the morning service.
* Baptisms occurring at St Katharine’s or St Paul's – please contact the Office in the first instance.
If you do not live within one of our parishes, but have a connection with one of our churches, then, again, we would be happy to arrange your child’s baptism.
The connection that would be relevant might be:
- Parents of the child were married in the Church (Beaulieu Abbey/St Paul's/St Katharine's) they wish to have child baptised in;
or
- Another child in the family already baptised in the Church;
or
- Parents themselves (one of them) baptised in the Church;
or
- Are resident within the parish (www.achurchnearyou.com can help with this);
or
- Parents of the child are regular worshippers in the Church
There are no statutory fees for services of baptism, however, a donation to the church is very welcome.
The baptism service takes about 30-40 minutes. If you want to sing hymns which would lengthen the service, then you would have to ask us to arrange an organist. There would be a fee for the organist.
If you would like to arrange a baptism please complete the baptism enquiry form.
Once a date for the baptism has been booked with the Benefice Office and the Priest, and the Baptism Application form has been returned to the Office; a meeting is arranged between the Priest and the parents to discuss the baptism.
When considering choosing godparents, please consider up to 3 godparents. The PCC have stipulated an absolute maximum of 4 but no more than this. Godparents should all have been baptised and at least one confirmed. At any baptism service there can be a maximum of 2 families having a child baptised.
Everyone is welcome to have their child baptised in their parish church. Whether you are exploring the possibility of a baptism, or whether you have already decided, the Church team will be delighted to hear from you to talk about it.