Baptism

We are happy to provide the Sacrament of Holy Baptism. One of our Ministerial team members will arrange to meet with you to plan this special event.  Please use our CONTACT page to connect with us.

The History of the Baptismal Font

Immanuel's stone font had a long and much-travelled history before it was moved to Immanuel in 2021. 

The font was carved from English granite by an unknown craftsman, and has been authoritatively dated to about 1250 AD. It is believed the font was in a church on the south coast of England, overlooking the cliffs facing the English Channel. Over the centuries, the sea eroded the cliffs. Eventually, the church and the ground it stood on fell into the sea. Hundreds of years later, the sea returned the font to the land. In about 1910, an Englishman discovered the stone when walking on the beach following a heavy storm. He carried the stone bowl home and used it in his garden as a flower planter. One day, a visiting archaeologist recognized the ancient stone as a font. He received permission to take the stone to Oxford, where its age was established. The owner, when he learned it was a 13th-century church font, asked the archaeologist to find a church wishing to give the font a home. 

Following the First World War, the Rev. Frederick Pike was busy building rural churches in the Diocese of Qu'Appelle. He was given the font to place in a beautiful new church in Heward, Saskatchewan. Once again, the font was being used for the purpose it had been designed for, and many children in that parish received Holy Baptism in it. Eventually, the population in the area declined, and the church was closed. In the late 1950's, the bishop presented the stone font to St. Luke's to be a link with the past. The brass cradle for the stone was a gift from Mr. and Mrs. E. S. Winter of St. Luke's in memory of a loved one. The base cradle was designed by Michael Argan and Ken Woodhouse, both of St. Luke's Parish, and was custom-built by Valley City Church Furniture in Dundas, Ontario. 

When St.Luke's closed and joined with the four other Regina parishes to create Immanuel Parish, the font was moved to Imanuel's building.