Unsure about infant baptism outside church

[Jammy]

I plan on being confirmed this year and so I have been thinking about this.
I was baptized as a baby in a pentecostal church.My parents don’t seem to recall much about what happened at the baptism like what was said however, my mother said she is a church of God pentecostal and they’re trinitarian. The thing is she didn’t get me baptized at her typical church but at a friend’s church. I asked chaplain whose teaching the confirmation class and he said to give him the name of the church where I was baptized. My mother totally doesn’t know the name of the church so now I’m stuck. And she’s getting sick of my questions. Now she’s telling me it doesn’t matter what happened and complaining about catholics and stuff. So asking more detailed questions is out of the question. :dts:
Should I just assume I was properly baptized or should I get conditionally baptized just in case? Or am I just being scrupulous? If i got a conditional baptism do I still have to go to confession before being confirmed?
I just want the situation to be resolved! :juggle:

 

[pigtown]

Jammy:
I think the best thing for you to do would be to talk to a priest. Since your Mom doesn’t seem to remember anything about your baptism it would be good to let the priest know so he can make a decision about whether or not you have had a valid baptism. Good luck.

 

[LilyM]

I wouldn’t worry too much.

If your mother doesn’t remember the details you can always have what’s called a ‘conditional baptism’ done.

In fact in your case this would be the only thing that COULD be done, since it’s entirely possible but not certain that you were validly baptised.

 

[Chatter163]

As a rule, Pentecostalists do not baptize infants, only post-adolescents and adults. Infants may be “dedicated” to the Lord, but are not baptized until they are older. Perhaps this would explain the priest’s concern and the parents’ inability to remember?

 

[Jammy]

Chatter163, I know what your saying it’s called a “Christening”, however, my mom told me (in annoyance) that the minster or whoever it was dashed water on my face. So because it involved water it wasn’t just a christening.

I’ve come to the conclusion that the best thing to do would be to get conditionally baptized. So I’m going to the priest to talk to him about it.

Thanks everyone for your advice!

 

[Chatter163]

I know what your saying it’s called a “Christening”, however, my mom told me (in annoyance) that the minster or whoever it was dashed water on my face. So because it involved water it wasn’t just a christening.

I’ve come to the conclusion that the best thing to do would be to get conditionally baptized. So I’m going to the priest to talk to him about it.

Thanks everyone for your advice!

Actually, what most people call a “christening” IS the baptism of an infant, something Pentecostalists most assuredly do not do. What Pentecostalists and other evangelical Protestants do for infants is have a dedication ceremony, which does not involve “dashing” water. Methinks thou art a bit confused on this one.

 

[NMJenny]

I think the idea of a conditional baptism is a good one–when I was received, I had some doubts about my baptism. The church (Congregational) and minister were very orthodox, and the Trinitarian formula was used, but the minister just dipped his hand into a pan of water and laid it on my head. (I was ten or eleven years old, so I remember it clearly.)

The priest who received me agreed that a conditional baptism would be wise, to settle my doubts if nothing else…

 

[Jammy]

Actually, what most people call a “christening” IS the baptism of an infant, something Pentecostalists most assuredly do not do. What Pentecostalists and other evangelical Protestants do for infants is have a dedication ceremony, which does not involve “dashing” water. Methinks thou art a bit confused on this one.

Actually I’m not confused. Perhaps the Pentecostals you know don’t do this but the ones I know do. My mom’s from the Caribbean so perhaps they do it differently. I wasn’t christened I was baptized. And I know the difference.