WE would like to assist "Angry Mum" (Yours Truly, Feb 28) who has had a problem getting her baby baptised.

As Church of England vicars in Radcliffe none of us refuses baptism to those who live in our respective parishes, and who seek this sacrament.

Each of us may have a different process to go through before baptism takes place and, for example, one of us offers a service of thanksgiving as an option to baptism. The thanksgiving service does not have the same promises and commitment as baptism. But in that situation baptism is not refused if preferred.

To avoid too much "churchy" language, baptism has a lot to do with membership. There are different kinds of membership for different organisations. One can join a political party and do nothing other than belong. Or one can join a well-respected service organisation which requires 60 per cent attendance at meetings over a six-month period. A lot depends on the promises undertaken when joining an organisation.

At baptism, parents and godparents make serious promises on behalf of a child. They promise to follow Christ. This can mean different things to different people. In early church life, preparation could take three years. Now the process is much simpler and shorter.

Christ's sacrificing love for us is unconditional, so he doesn't demand 60 per cent attendance, or any at all. What saddens us is that so many who seek baptism have seldom worshipped, and rarely return afterwards. That is their right but it is not within the spirit of the promises they undertake.

Our preparation is to try to help people understand the nature of the life changing promises which they are making. In short, each of us has a process.

None of us will baptise someone out of our parish boundaries without consulting with the other vicar concerned. Each of us will baptise members of our own parish who seek baptism and who profess to be serious about the promises they are about to make.

C of E CLERGY

Radcliffe.