The parish of Caversham Thameside and Mapledurham is delighted that you are considering baptism (sometimes known as a Christening), whether it is for yourself or your child.

In our parish we have three churches: St Peter’s, St John’s and St Margaret’s. Each of these is available for baptism to anyone who lives in our parish (see the note at the foot of this page).

Along with all Christian churches, we believe that Baptism is the way an individual themselves, or parents on behalf of a child, thanks God for their life and makes a decision to follow Jesus Christ and become a Christian. Through the pouring of water over the candidate’s head, the anointing with holy oil on the forehead, and the giving of a lighted baptismal candle we symbolise the cleansing of a person from their former life and marking them out on their life ahead following Christ.

We welcome anyone who wishes to be baptised and will do all we can to make it happen in one of our churches or in your own parish. If baptism feels like a step too far, we’ll find another way to mark the beginning of your journey of faith. Like other parishes in the Church of England, we would like you to have your baptism service in your local parish church, or a church where you have a strong attachment. We are very happy to talk to you about the most helpful setting for your baptism.

Children are generally baptised during our Sunday morning services, which is 9.30am at St Peter’s and St John’s and 11.15am at St Margaret’s. St Peter’s holds their baptisms usually on the 1st Sunday of each month, St John’s on the 2nd Sunday and St Margaret’s on the 3rd Sunday. If these dates or times are not convenient for you we are very happy to talk through other options. If you are an adult or older child enquiring about baptism, please talk to one of our clergy first.

Each child baptised needs godparents. The rules of the Church require that every child should have no fewer than three godparents, at least two of the same sex as the child. Parents may be godparents for their own children, providing they have at least one other godparent. We advise you to keep the number of godparents to a maximum of four. Adult candidates do not need godparents, but can have sponsors.

There’s is no charge for a baptism and we will try to answer any questions you might have.

To make an enquiry about a baptism please contact the Rector, rector@ctmparish.org.uk0118 947 9505, or fill in the contact form below. Your privacy is important to us. We will treat your data as strictly confidential and only hold your data and correspond with you according to the terms of our Data Privacy Notice.

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