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E > Guidance Concerning Baptism and the Basis of Union
The
following statement was accepted by the General Assembly in 1989 as an
interpretation of paragraph 14 of the Basis of Union:
We
affirm, along with the whole Church of God, that there is one baptism
which God has given us as the means of entry into the body of Christ.
Almost alone among churches the URC holds in trust for the coming great
Church a dual track practice of baptism, in which as a church we recognise
both infant and believer's baptism. Beyond those differences we hold that
baptism 'is the sacrament of entry into the Church and is therefore
administered once only to any person.' (Basis of Union, Clause 14. As a
church we hold that baptism, whether of believers or of infants, is
administered in the light of the divine promise and in response to the
priority of grace.
We
therefore affirm with Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry, that "Baptism
is an unrepeatable act. Any practice which might be interpreted as 'rebaptism'
must be avoided."
We
confess that the baptismal practice of the Church has sometimes been the
cause of pain and scandal. We recognise that some have, for various
reasons, ceased to regard their baptism as infants as true baptism. In our
own communion, uncertainties about the conscience clause in the Scheme of
Union have led to perplexity and misunderstanding.
With
regard to the conscience clause the Basis of Union is explicit that as a
church we affirm that 'both forms of baptism are understood to be used by
God in the upbuilding of faith.' (Basis of Union, Clause 14). The rights
of conscience allow that no particular minister shall be compelled to
administer baptism in a form to which s/he 'has a conscientious objection.'
They do not allow that a congregation may declare one exclusive mode of
baptism. We believe that ministers are obliged to make it clear to their
congregations that there is a case for both forms of baptism. We also
believe that if we are to be truly a dual track fellowship, the
opportunity for both forms of administration must be made quite plain. All
parents bringing an infant for initiation must be informed that there are
two possible forms of initiation.
We
believe that careful pastoral practice will help to prevent some of the
pain and misunderstanding that have been a feature of recent experience.
On the one hand the seriousness of vows made by parents and the
congregation must be stressed. On the other hand, we would wish to
encourage opportunity to be given for the reaffirmation of baptismal vows
both at the point of personal declaration of faith and as a regular
feature of the church's worship.
The
URC depends for its well-being on the conciliar discipline according to
which we voluntarily and with integrity order our pastoral practice
according to the Basis of Union. We affirm that it is the responsibility
of District Councils to see that those who make vows before God make them
seriously and with the intention to live in accordance with them. These
considerations must be borne in mind particularly at the time of
inductions to pastorates.
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