Baptism ‘leaves’

Each church will have its own special way of enabling the whole church family to welcome and pray for the baptism family.

This idea comes from a Scandanavian church and is most appropriate for the baptism of a child already known in the church.

Each member of the church congregation, whether adult or child, is given a paper template of a leaf at the beginning of the service.

Within the service, all are invited to write a short prayer or message for the baby who is being baptised. The prayer leaves are collected in during the service, (perhaps at the same time as the offertory).

The prayer leaves are attached to a paper prayer tree that the parents of the child can take home, as a keepsake of the service and and as a tangible sign of the church’s commitment to pray for their child.