Welcome to each one of you. My name is [Officiant], and we're here today to participate in the christening sacrament, and to give thanks and celebrate our joy in the arrival of a precious child.
The christening of a child is an important rite of passage to those that recognise the role that God plays in our lives.
The Christian Baby Naming Ceremony is usually combined with baptism into the faith. Many Christian sects believe in the concept of original sin, a shadow on the pure soul inherited from the disobedience of Adam and Eve. Baptism removes this stain and initiates the child into the spiritual community. Most ceremonies take place at a designated baptismal font in a church. Babies are traditionally dressed in white for the ceremony to signify their innocence, and they are attended — and held — by their parents or godparents. A priest or minister anoints the child's forehead with holy oil and sprinkles it with blessed water, welcoming the infant to the church and invoking God's grace and mercy on its soul. At that time, the baby's name is spoken and a baptismal certificate with the new name, ideally a saint's name, is signed