Baptism
The sacraments:
Our Anglican tradition recognizes the sacraments as "external and visible signs of internal and spiritual grace." (The Book of Common Prayer, p. 857)
Holy Baptism and the Eucharist (or Holy Communion) are the two great sacraments given by Christ to his Church.
In the case of Baptism, the external and visible sign is the water, in which the person is baptized in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit; interior and spiritual grace is union with Christ in his death and resurrection, birth in the family of God, the Church, the forgiveness of sins, and a new life in the Holy Spirit.
In the case of the Eucharist, the external and visible sign is the bread and wine, given and received according to the command of Christ. Interior and spiritual grace is the Body and Blood of Christ given to his people and received by faith.
In addition to these two, there are other spiritual markers on our faith walk that can serve as means of grace. These include:
Confirmation: the adult affirmation of our baptismal vows
Reconciliation of a penitent: private confession
Marriage: Christian marriage
Orders: ordination to the diaconate, priesthood, or episcopate
Anointing: anointing the sick or dying with holy oil.
The baptism.
In the waters of baptism, God lovingly adopts us into the family of God, which we call Church, and we are given the life of God to share and remember that nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ. Holy Baptism, which can be done by pouring or immersing water, marks a formal entry into the episcopal congregation and the Church in general; Candidates for the sacrament take a series of vows, including an affirmation of the Baptismal Covenant, and are baptized in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. They are sealed as the property of Christ forever.
All people of any age are welcome to be baptized in our church; We believe in a single baptism for the forgiveness of sins, since the "bond that God establishes in Baptism is indissoluble"
We follow the rite according to the Book of Common Prayer, on page 218.
