Celebration of the Sacraments

“The Sacraments of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper are God’s acts of sealing the promises of faith within the community of faith as the congregation worships, and include the responses of the faithful to the Word proclaimed and enacted in the Sacraments.”

Baptism

“The Sacrament of Baptism, the sign and seal of God’s grace and our response, is the foundational recognition of Christian commitment.” We (or The Presbyterian Church (USA) believes) believe in one Baptism. If a person has been Baptized in another church, that Baptism is recognized in our church.

Persons desiring the Sacrament of Baptism for their children or for themselves make vows that:

• Profess their faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior
• Renounce evil and affirm their reliance on God’s grace
• Declare their intention to participate actively and responsibly in the worship and mission of the church
• Declare their intention to provide for the Christian nurture of their child.

The congregation then:

• Proves its faith, using the Apostles’ Creed
• Voices its support of those baptized
• Expresses its willingness to take responsibility for the nurture of those baptized.

The water for Baptism at IPC is applied to the person by sprinkling on the head. The minister then lays a hand on the head in blessing and praying for the anointing of the Holy Spirit.

During Baptism the minister uses the name of the person to be baptized and baptizes in the name of the triune God. “I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”

From our Presbyterian Book of Order