Baptismal Font
The
font is placed in the centre of the church. Nothing is of greater
importance in preparation for worship than the renewed awareness
of being the community of the baptised. In this church the water
wells up in the centre of the assembly, splashing and gurgling
and reminding us constantly of Jesus' promise of "a spring of
water welling up to eternal life".
The
picture of the dove in the bottom of the font is a symbol of
the Spirit we receive at baptism.
The
central location of the font restores baptism to its primal
importance in the life of Christians. The design of the font
permits baptism by a variety of methods, including, affusion
where the water is poured over the candidate, and immersion
when the candidate is dipped into the water.
Infant
Baptism: this picture shows the immersion font in use. more
pictures
Structure of the font: the font is a full-immersion font with steps down into it at either end. At the head of the sunken font is the font from the old church. The two have been plumbed together so that water circulates. It wells up into the old font then trickles down into the new. At quiet times during services one can hear the sound of living water. A powerful sign of the presence of God.
The font reminds us of what baptism meant to us when we entered the journey of faith as newly baptised in the Body of Christ.
