Water is used in many faith traditions as a cleansing ritual. In the Christian faith, the water poured over us in baptism is also a sign of our new life in Christ. The water is blessed and poured over the head of the person being baptised, as he or she is named as Christ’s own in the name of God. It is a ritual of belonging and is an affirmation of each of us being created in the image of holiness and of our desire to turn away from that which negates and diminishes life.
In the Anglican Church, we baptize infants and young children as well as those who come to faith as adults seeking to be received into the household of faith through baptism.