The Congregational Church views infant baptism not merely as a blessing, but as a covenant -- it is a "contract" with God, and not on one's own terms. But some parents have approached the Church with the view that infant baptism is a blessing, and the Church may not withhold a blessing. For centuries, all parents have taken the vow: "We promise to bring up this child as a Christian child, in the nurture and admonition of the Lord." In order to fulfill this, then, parents need to have some kind of commitment to the Church. Over the years, some parents have stated up front that they will have nothing to do with the Church -- yet they want baptism. Regrettably, we have had to turn them down, but not so that they couldn't come back. OBSERVATION: My city Church had and surely has what is sometimes called a "united Church" position on baptism -- to accommodate a diverse congregation. That is, we baptised believers, too. That would need some explanation.
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