BABY DEDICATIONS
At Dublin Vineyard it is our practice to celebrate the arrival of a new baby into a family and our church community through a baby dedication service. This service is part of our main Sunday Service. The act of dedicating a child to God was a common practice in the Old and New Testament times. As followers of Christ, we dedicate babies for many of the same reasons.
Baby Dedication is an act of worship and devotion as parents present their child and themselves before God, asking that his purposes be fulfilled in the life of their child. The parent is acknowledging that God has entrusted their child to their care and acknowledging their own special role in the spiritual formation of their child.
The ceremony, conducted by the pastor, is intended to be a commitment between the parents and God on behalf of the child, giving themselves to the work of laying a godly foundation in the life of their child that will be built upon for years to come. Parents are publicly declaring their intention to be a positive influence in building up their child’s faith and nurturing their relationship with God until the child is old enough to make his or her own personal decision to follow Jesus Christ. As a church community we support parents to help them to raise their children in the Christian faith.
What’s the difference between infant Baptism and Baby dedication?
All of us come from different backgrounds and bring different expectations to the dedication ceremony. It is helpful to clarify that a dedication is not the same as baptism. At Dublin Vineyard, we believe that baptism is a personal decision that should be reached when an individual is old enough to understand what it means to make a choice to accept Jesus Christ as the one who is personally their saviour, friend and Lord and can make a decision to follow him in all his ways.
Through dedicating a child, parents are making a commitment to raise that child according to God’s Word and his ways. It is important to understand that dedication is not about the child’s salvation; instead it is about the parent’s decision to nurture and instruct the child’s faith, with God’s grace and love, so that the child can later make a personal decision to follow Jesus Christ. This is why we dedicate babies and young children, if their parents desire. It is a commitment made by the parents rather than the child.
If you would like to have your child dedicated, please contact the office.
BAPTISM
We see baptism as an outward expression of an inward reality. People who wish to be baptised are aware that something has happened to them spiritually; that they have had a “spiritual rebirth”. Jesus puts it like this in John 3:3: "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.” This is why we see baptism as something that the person chooses for themselves.
Your decision to be baptised may be one of the most important you will ever make as a follower of Jesus Christ. We believe that baptism is not for the purpose of joining the church, rather it is an important event in one’s spiritual journey of becoming a follower of Christ.
Jesus asked his followers to turn away from a life without God and to be baptised into a new life in Jesus. Baptism is a powerful public statement of what you believe and is a deeply symbolic act of faith . The water symbolizes what has happened to our soul – a complete cleaning and washing away of the effects and the very nature of sin. God begins to paint His picture of us on a clean canvas.
It’s also a statement of identification with the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We acknowledge that at a specific point in space and time Jesus literally died, was buried and rose again, conquering death and making a new way that we could have a personal relationship with our Heavenly Father. In baptism, we are saying that we too have died to our old self-centred ways and are buried in the water and are then raised up new - spiritually alive for the first time. You now are filled with Christ’s life in you.
Baptism is a public confession to your new relationship with Jesus as your friend, saviour and lord. When baptised, you become conscious of a fresh decision and desire to walk in obedience to God’s will and his purposes. Your life gains a new perspective. It’s no longer, “what do I want”, but rather a new way of seeing yourself as God’s son or daughter, who is continually seeking to be a part of what God is doing in you and through you. We often say, “ I am now an apprentice of Jesus.” I want to live life his way.
We usually have baptism services once or twice a year. These services are such a fantastic time of celebration in our church community as part of this service includes time to hear personal stories from those getting baptised. It is always so amazing to hear these personal stories of those who’ve chosen to follow Jesus.
If you’d like more information on baptism, please contact the office.
WEDDINGS
It’s brilliant that you’ve decided to get married and celebrate your love and commitment to each other. Your wedding day is such a special day of celebration. It’s a wonderful and special day for a couple to publicly make a commitment to each other before God, your family and friends. Every couple sets out with his or her own hopes and dreams for their life together. We believe that each marriage has the potential to be a really great marriage and that the best way to give your marriage the best start is to invest some of your time, prior to your wedding day, in pre-marital counselling. With this in mind, we require every couple to have participated in some form of pre-marital counselling prior to your wedding day, for any weddings that we perform.
Our pastor will perform the ceremony and he meets all legal requirements to perform the ceremony. Ceremonies usually take place at a venue chosen by the couple. You can contact the office for more information and any queries.
FUNERALS
Loss of a loved one, whether expected or sudden is such a difficult time in life. We are able to conduct funeral services and will work closely with the family experiencing loss, to make this service as special and meaningful as we can. Please contact the officeshould you need to inquire.