Church Of England Lures Parents With Champagne
The Church of England is considering a new style of baptism to attract parishioners that rarely go to church. It’s called a “Champagne Christening.” The church believes it will attract young couples who have little or no connection to the church but still want to have an occasion to celebrate their family.
From The Telegraph:
The idea is one of the early results of a major ”market research” project, backed by the Archbishop of Canterbury and York, examining how the Church could redesign its christening services for the 21st Century.
Official figures show that the number of baptisms conducted in the Church of England is on the rise even though weekly congregations have been falling.
Vicars have also noticed that some unmarried couples appeared to view the christening almost as their answer to having a wedding, an opportunity to invite family and friends for a public ceremony followed by a party.
This sounds great to me. I love parties and champagne. I’m just wondering if people would actually be enticed to baptize their child because there was champagne involved. I know a lot of people who are unsure about whether they want to baptize their child or not. I used to be one of them. But the possibility of champagne and a party probably isn’t going to sway my decision about whether I want my child initiated into Christianity. That’s just me though.
It may be nice for couples who have decided not to marry to have an event to celebrate with family and friends. I’m all for bringing people together to drink champagne and have a meal. Plenty of people get married in the church without having a deep belief in what it preaches. I guess the same could hold true for baptisms. The event could serve as more of a way to “present” your child to your family and circle of friends.
Also, champagne makes everything better.
(photo: Mariyana Misaleva/ Shutterstock)
