Baby blessings, baby naming, christening or baptism ceremonies, are all ways to acknowledge, honor, celebrate, dedicate and give thanks for the gift of a new child in the life of both its family and the larger community.

A Baby Blessing ceremony is not a baptism or a christening in the religious sense and for older children who have grown into their names, the focus of the ceremony is to welcome them to the family and community.   The ceremony reminds us of the great responsibility involved in bringing up a child, and to recognise those who will have an important role in the child's development.

The words of the ceremony are chosen to reflect the values of the parents and the family. During the ceremony, parents state their love and their promises to their child and declare their hopes for their child’s future.  Parents will often choose to have poetry or a favourite reading read with music gently playing in the background.

Rather than godparents, whose traditional role is to help guide the child in a Christian life, 'mentors' (who may be friends or family) are appointed.  Mentors play an important role in the life of the child and should be chosen carefully. Grandparents are also often involved as they are most likely to play an important role in your child’s life, you may also wish to mention and remember friends and family who are not able to be present at the ceremony.  Perhaps someone important in your child’s life is now deceased, you may choose to have a photograph of them at the ceremony to acknowledge them.

Some families do include religious references and this is no problem, although if you require a full religious ceremony, it is suggested that you contact your church or religious community.  A typical ceremony will take approximately 20 minutes, but again this is dependant on what and how you would like the ceremony to be conducted.  Prior to our first meeting, please give some thought as to what you would like to include in the ceremony, your choice of mentors, would you like all the guests to be involved, what readings you would like.

At our first meeting we will confirm the date and venue of your child’s ceremony, plan an outline of what you want to happen.  From having identified your needs I will develop a ceremony for you which will provide you with many beautiful memories.