Seeking Church to Baptize Infant

Hi W.,
I don't know what area you are in, but there is an Ecumenical Catholic church in Santa Ana area right by Mainplace Mall that is very welcoming and friendly. The leader there is Bishop Peter Hickman and he is absolutely wonderful. I have baptized both my children there and since it is a smaller community, they were the only ones being baptized during their mass. It was very special for the family. Your hubby might like it because it is familiar Catholic traditions but a little more open.

Their website is www.saint-matthew.org. Good luck and God bless!

I second what Diedre wrote in her response to you. With that said, however, I am a member of Christ Lutheran Church in Long Beach (on Stearns between Palo Verde & Studebaker). It's a wonderful church that is accepting and welcoming of everyone. Membership is not required. I would call them and speak with Pastor Jim Bessey. I know he'll welcome you to join us! Their phone number is ###-###-####.

I've heard that Wayfarers Chapel in PV is a nice place to have it done.

I was brought up Catholic. Anyone can baptize a baby. If you don't belong to a church, why not do it yourselves? The important thing is the intent to present this child to God with love.

Hi W.~

I looked into the same thing for our daughter and found the same struggles. Her godparents to be live in VA Beach and were coming out for a rare visit. The Wayfarer's Chapel in Palos Verdes is very non-denominational and absolutely gorgeous! My husband and I got married there. The only set back is that you have to pay fot it. If I remember correctly, it is around $300. They do it privately and as far as I know, you don't have to take any classes. I don't have the phone number, but you can google it and it has all the information needed. I know for us, we eventually want to become part of a congregation somewhere close by, but it's very difficult to take a baby to church right now! Good luck to you!

Hi W.,
I'm Catholic and my husband is not. We had our daughter baptized at St. Cornelius Church on the corner of Bellflower and Wardlow. Some of the other Catholic churches in the area were abrupt when I called and they wouldn't do it if we weren't already a member of the parish; St. Cornelius was accomodating. The Catholic Church requires that one of the godparents be Catholic, but the parish doesn't require you to provide any proof that they are - it's up to your conscience :-). They want the parents to take an education class (with a $50 recommended donation to the Church) prior to scheduling the baptism, and they also ask that the godparents take the class. I scheduled the baptism in a rush because I wanted it to occur when one of my friends (who is also my daughter's godparent) was in town after her birth. Neither godparent had time to take a class (they can take it at their local parish), but both are Catholic and are involved in their local churches, so I don't think it really mattered. So the bottom line is the only document we had to provide was proof that we, the parents, had taken the education class.

However, I'd add that you need to think about how you want your child raised. A baptism is a promise to raise a child in a particular faith. Do you want your child raised as a Catholic? If you want your child raised as a Christian, not necessarily a Catholic, you should find a non-denominational church that does infant baptisms. I think some of the other Christian churches baptize when the children are older.

The Saturday Long-Beach Press Telegram prints a listing of all the local churches by denomination with their phone numbers and a listing of the times of their services. That might be a good starting point for you.

Why don't you try the Unitarian Universalist Church? They include everyone of all faiths. There is one on Atherton in Long Beach and one in Costa Mesa. Good luck!