Christening your children.

[Gwizz]

DS #2 was christened the other week and we also had DS#1 christened in 2009, both OH and I are both christened but again we aren't particularly religious either. Naming ceremony is a good idea

Also the vicar mentioned to us that godparents must be christened, therefore if you wish your child to be a godparent when they are older they will have to be christened one day, could be off their own back though at a later date

xxx

 

[NuKe]

nah, don't believe in it! i was christened but im an atheist

 

[Midnight_Fairy]

DS #2 was christened the other week and we also had DS#1 christened in 2009, both OH and I are both christened but again we aren't particularly religious either. Naming ceremony is a good idea

Also the vicar mentioned to us that godparents must be christened, therefore if you wish your child to be a godparent when they are older they will have to be christened one day, could be off their own back though at a later date

xxx

Not always true, you can attend services and promise without actually being christened and be a godparent that way. For the reason of a child may or may not being able to be a Godparent is not IMO a valid reason for a christening.

 

[mum22ttc#3]

^^ You don't even have to do that, I think it depends on the vicar really. When we got DD1 christened we had a godparent that wasn't christened, he didn't have to attend any services, get christened or make any promises, apart from the usual one you make to the child within the christening itself.

TBH I also agree, even it were the way I would never christen a child just because it meant that they may not be able to be a godparent when they was older. I'm in 2 minds at the moment because even though I do believe, I don't to the extent that I don't practice iykwim? The above would never even come into it for me.

 

[Gwizz]

DS #2 was christened the other week and we also had DS#1 christened in 2009, both OH and I are both christened but again we aren't particularly religious either. Naming ceremony is a good idea

Also the vicar mentioned to us that godparents must be christened, therefore if you wish your child to be a godparent when they are older they will have to be christened one day, could be off their own back though at a later date

xxx

Not always true, you can attend services and promise without actually being christened and be a godparent that way. For the reason of a child may or may not being able to be a Godparent is not IMO a valid reason for a christening.

I wasnt implying it was thats why i said 'at a later date' also. I agree i think each church/vicar has its own preferences.

 

[Twinkl3]

I would like to get my future children christened.

I am Catholic and OH is Atheist, although I am not a devout catholic I still believe in a god and I would like my children to be christened the same and learn about the religion, meanings, etc. If when they got older they thought it was a pile of codswallop then thats their choice.

 

[laurenfreya]

both my girls are christened and Ciaran will be. I'm not religous but my OH is he takes the kids to church every Sunday. But one of Lauren's god parents isnt christened the vicar new about it and it wasnt a problem

 

[SaraOflaherty]

We won't as we are both atheists, but his family in Ireland does it even though they are not religious. We both think it's kind of stupid, because in his own words, 'It's just their excuse for a piss-up. They might as well skip the christening and just have the party.'

 

[dizzydoll]

I will be getting any LO's I have christened. Both me and OH are Catholic and were christened. We don't go to mass every Sunday as we used to both work weekends but we are planning on going back just have to decide whether to stay going to the parish we were in that I grew up in or to go to the new one we live in.

I don't agree with people treating it as an excuse for a piss up or christening the child with no intention of bringin them up catholic and just partaking in the celebrations for the parties (communion and confirmations etc)

 

[Lara310809]

We didn't christen our daughter. We are basically the least religious people you could get, so christening was so against who we are and what we consider to be important. I'm all for having it done if you're religious though.

I don't really get why you would go through the ceremony and have your child committed to a certain faith though, when you're not particularly religious, and your OH doesn't seem bothered either way. I'm not trying to insult you; I just genuinely don't get it.

You can still assign godparents to your child; you don't need a religious ceremony for that. Many non-religious people call them guideparents. I personally hate the term - I hate the term godparents too, but couldn't think of anything better, so when we assigned ours, we referred to them as that. We assigned my brother and our best friend as our first daughter's godparents, and we asked them to act as my godparents do (also not religiously assigned, as I wasn't christened either); but basically to be there if needed and to offer support in hard times.

Like I said though; I don't disagree with the idea of having your child christened. I just chose not to do it.