How to have your child baptized at St. Joseph's
Step 1 - Schedule the Baptism
All baptisms at St. Joseph’s are scheduled first come first serve by calling the parish office during normal business hours (Mon-Fri 8:30-3:30). Baptisms are scheduled on Sundays at 1:15pm. Special scheduling may also be accommodated depending on personnel availability.
In-person baptism preparation sessions are scheduled at 7:00pm on the second Wednesday of each month. Please call the parish office to reserve a spot. Consider also attending the parish Meal-and-a-Message evening from 6pm to 7pm immediately before the baptism preparation session for a family meal and activities for adults and children.
To schedule you will need the following information:
- Parent’s and child’s names
- Child’s birth date (and an original birth/adoption certificate if the parents are not married.)
- Parents address, phone number, email, etc.
- Parent’s religion
- If the child is adopted, a copy of the adoption certificate is required.
Step 2 - Register with FORMED
Baptism preparation now has both an on-line and in-person component.
To access the preparation videos you must sign up form FORMED. This is entirely free and only requires your name and email for access.
- Click on https://formed.org/signup?currentStep=groupSearch
- Enter 08244 in the search box and then click on St. Joseph Catholic Church
- Click Next
- Enter name and email address
- Click Sign Up,
- You will need to access your email to verify your account. Then you will be able to watch the following videos, plus many more you may be interested in.
Step 3 - Complete Baptism Preparation
Parents should watch the three videos above. (They are also available in Spanish here.)
As you watch the videos please jot down any questions you have and bring them to the in-person baptism preparation session.
Ideally both parents should watch the videos. We recommend that godparents watch the videos as well. For those unable to watch the videos for some reason, please contact our deacon at baptism@stjosephsomerspoint.org.
Step 4 - Choose Godparents
You should choose your child’s godparents carefully. They will be asked to make a promise to help you (the parents) raise your child in the Catholic Faith. We try to respect family preferences but need to keep in mind this primary role of godparents. For this reason the church has a number of requirements for selecting godparents. A person may only have one or two godparents (also called sponsors); if two are chosen, they must be male and female.
A godparent must be:
- chosen by the parents,
- have the ability and the intention to fulfill the role of godparent,
- be at least 16 years of age,
- be a confirmed Roman Catholic, who has already received the Most Holy Eucharist, and
- be neither the father nor the mother of the child.
A baptized person who belongs to another Christian community may be admitted only as a “Christian witness” (not a godparent) provided that there is at least one Roman Catholic godparent who fulfills the above criteria. A non-baptized person cannot be a witness. Questions should be directed to our deacon at baptism@stjosephsomerspoint.org.
Step 5 - Safety and Sanitizing Procedures
At the present time baptisms are limited to one or two families per service. The first family to arrive should sit in the pews to the left when facing the altar. The second family should sit in the pews to the right. Parents, godparents, and the child being baptized should sit in the front pew.
Fresh water is used for each baptism and the anointing uses a new cotton ball for each child. The celebrant will wear a mask when the ceremony requires him to be near or contact the child.
