Four teenagers from the same family have taken a public step of faith together, choosing to be baptised at the same time at St Nicholas Church, Radstock. For Revd Ian Rousell, Rector of St Nicholas, the moment was a reminder of what can happen when people are simply invited to explore their faith and trust God with the rest. “It’s not rocket science, just invite people to come along and God will do what he does.” And that was exactly what happened on Pentecost Sunday, when Alanis, Farley, Mylee and Chesney were baptised together. With their family, friends and their church community at their side, they took this special step on their journey of faith and their commitment to Jesus. For everyone it was a wonderful day of celebration, witness and joy.
For their mum Charlotte, the service was especially moving because each of her children had made the decision for themselves. She says she was delighted that four of her children wanted to be baptised, and was overjoyed that they wanted to do it together. “I think because I didn't get baptised as a baby and chose to do it myself as a teenager, I'd always decided that I wouldn't baptise my children as babies. I wanted it to be something that would be entirely their choice. To see that all four of them had chosen to go ahead with the baptism was really special, it was just a really wonderful day.”
Alanis, 19, decided to be baptised after taking part in the Alpha course at St Nicholas Church with her sister and dad. She says the course helped her explore her faith more deeply and recognise what it meant to welcome Jesus into her life. She says, “Jesus has always been a part of my life. But it wasn’t until we started going to church and Revd Ian recommended Alpha that I really accepted him into my life in the same way. Going to Alpha really helped me start to understand and realise everything behind it.
She too was delighted to be able to share such a special occasion with her brothers and sister, “We do all have a close relationship, the four of us. We’ve always got on really well together and it just meant a lot to me that they were part of my journey as much as I was with them. It felt nice that I could speak to them about it and we all had our input to make it a special day. It taught us a lot about how much we all mean to each as well.”
Her younger sister Mylee says her faith is already shaping the way she lives each day, and that being baptised with her family made the moment even more meaningful. “My faith is everything. I'm guided by it in my day-to-day life. When we spoke about it with Ian and my mum, they encouraged us and told us what it would be like and I liked the idea and I really wanted to do it and have my family there with me.”
Revd Ian Rousell, Rector of St Nicholas’, says the baptisms were a joyful witness to faith, not only for the young people and their family, but for the whole church community. He says, “It was the first time in many years that St Nicholas had been able to hold full-immersion baptisms, and the atmosphere was full of joy and celebration.
“What made the day even more special was that all four teenagers invited their friends, who are not yet believers, to come along and witness this powerful moment of faith.”