Can I include Godparents in the Naming Ceremony?

Can I include Godparents in the Naming Ceremony? Absolutely! You can appoint Godparents/ Guideparents/ Supporting adults (sometimes Oddparents!) to your little one and they will be asked to make commitments during the ceremony.

Unlike a Christening, at a Naming Ceremony there are no restrictions and no prerequisites that your Guideparents need to fulfil (such as confirming they have been christened). That means you can choose anyone who holds a meaningful place in both yours and your child’s life, and you can involve them as much or as little as you wish in the ceremony itself.

If I include Godparents in the Naming Ceremony, what is their role?

Promises may be made by Guideparents, but also can be made by the parents, or even other members of the congregation. People involved can either answer questions asked by the celebrant during the ceremony, or they can prepare their own vows. It is great if the people involved are happy to write their own promises or meaningful readings as the ceremony becomes even more personal to them.

You could choose for them to do a reading, say a passage that is important to you, sing a song or simply be there and reply to your celebrant when called upon to make commitments during the ceremony.

With a celebrant, there are no restrictions at all and you can choose whomever you feel is best suited to be a positive mentor and offer love and guidance to your child as they grow. You will be surrounding your child with more loving role models to nurture them and have a positive impact on their life; there is no greater gift.

Can I use the term Godparent even if I am not religious?

You can use whatever you like when it comes to naming these important people in your child’s life!

There are no rules to say you can’t use the term Godparent (after all, it is the most recognisable), but there are also many other alternatives. You may choose to call them a:

• Guardian
• Mentor
• Guideparent
• Friend-parent
• Honorary Auntie and Uncle
• Sparent
• Odd-parent
• God-less-parent
• Fairly Un-godly Mother

… of course, these range in their wackiness!

Our Resident Blogger, Katie Keen, has written a fantastic blog all about this subject, go take a look!