Baptismal Integrity Resource Pages

In the press and on the radio

John Hartley reflects on the experience of suceeding at getting something about baptism into the media.

The article on page 1 of this issue hit the media in a big way. It started as a parish magazine article (I’ve reproduced it exactly as printed), and reached the Church of England Newspaper, the Yorkshire Post, the Sun, Radio 2’s Jimmy Young programme, Radio Leeds (three times) and the Bradford Telegraph & Argus. You can read some of these on www.baptism.org.uk, and all of them on the St Luke’s Eccleshill site at www.stluke-eccleshill.org.uk where you will find copies and transcripts.

I must admit to you that the effect was deliberate. I was getting highly frustrated that we never seemed to get our message into the public domain, and I especially wrote the article to make a big splash, sending it to the press myself, and grasping at all opportunities to speak and get into the media.

After the experience, here are some of the key points that I think I can learn for the future.

• There’s an initial issue of “Do I want to go public or not?” which I needed to face right at the start. Having faced it, I was prepared for what might happen.

• What is news? The media say that a combination of an issue and a famous personality is a good story. So this one was a winner. In retrospect I regret even more that we missed “Madonna and Child.”

• It was vital to check the article with my diocesan communications officer and archdeacon before going to print - so they could comment on it, and (hopefully) defend it if they were put on the spot. They both made sensible comments which I needed to hear (even if I didn’t want to hear them), and as a result the article was not open to the ridicule which my first draft would have risked.

• Although I needed a negative title to catch the press’s eye, we must stay positive in what we say. That’s why the Thanksgiving service is so important in baptismal reform and discipline. Hence the focus in this issue on Thanksgivings. (Maybe a key question for the final article in this Update is - what can we offer which is positive?).

• When I sent the item to the Church Times and CEN I should have sent press releases. I think this would have helped the CEN to focus on the positive offer of a thanksgiving instead of just the negative “Don’t Baptize” title.

• It was vital to have the original article up on our church website. Because the media work by “Chinese whispers” - they read each other’s spins, but unless you can get the original into their hands immediately, they can’t report what you actually did say. The Yorkshire Post wrote a wonderful summary of what I’d said, but if they’d just followed the CEN (where they first noticed the item) it would have been quite different!

• On radio interviews, it helped me to have a short list of points I wanted to make. Because otherwise I am entirely interviewer-led. I didn’t get all my points across, but I managed better than I might have done by keeping on target.

I had a lot of positive comments. Perhaps my favourite is from a local RC priest who wrote “I will copy your article and give it to the ‘appropriate’ parents when they come.”

Here are some of the main questions and replies which came out in this debate, both in the media and here at St Luke’s church:

Q. Isn’t the attitude “don’t baptize” very negative and unwelcoming?
A. No: we are recommending a very positive and friendly service in the Thanksgiving and Blessing.

Q. But why not baptism?
A. Because baptism is basically about making promises. We want people to be able to look the vicar in the eye afterwards.

Q. Isn’t baptism about God’s grace, not just about promises?
A. It’s about both. “Grace” means God’s free gift, and this is expressed in the Thanksgiving and Blessing service. The “grace” in the baptism service is only in the context of faith.

Q. Wouldn’t “private” baptisms be better, to avoid embarrassment at having to speak in front of a big congregation?
A. No, because the congregation has to witness the promises. Thanksgivings can be private, but not baptisms.

Q. Don’t you feel “used” by families who come for a one-off and then are never seen again at church?
A. No, we welcome people who want to come, and we think church is the right place to say “thank-you God” for a baby. But we are dubious about promises if folk don’t mean them.

Q. Isn’t baptism basically between the family and God? Is it any of your business to interfere?
A. The bible says our faith must be public (Mark 8:38) and we must meet together (Heb 10:25). It is our business to point this out.

Q. Isn’t baptism ultimately the parents’ decision?
A. No, it’s the church’s decision. (e.g. in Acts 8:36 the Ethiopian asks Philip, he doesn’t tell him). C of E law makes this clear.

Q. Doesn’t the bible say baptism is for adult believers only?
A. No - the bible doesn’t say if infants were baptized or not. The C of E accepts infant baptism and also believers baptism.

Q. Has David Beckham replied?
A. No, not yet. Give him time!