Hello Dave, I assume you are referring to Presbyterian baptisms? Since some time in the nineteenth century, the practice of baptism within Presbyterian congregations has been to dispense the sacrament during the church service in the presence of the entire congregation.
However, this was not the way things were in the past. I refer to the autobiography of the Rev. Ross Stevenson, born Carrygullen, Strabane, Co. Tyrone, in 1814 and I quote “The old parson, Rev. J. Cannahan [Rev. Thomas Kernahan, minister of Douglas and Clady congregations], would come to our house to baptize the children about two weeks after birth; for even Presbyterians believed that there could be no hope for a child’s salvation if it died before being baptized”. Then there is the instance of my 2xgreat grandmother Sarah Arbuckle, born Calhame, Strabane, Co. Tyrone, Dec. 12 1833 and baptised Dec. 24, the day of her mother’s death; under such circumstances, a baptism in the home is credible. And in more recent times…………..in “A History of Ballindrait Church and Its People” by Belinda Mahaffy (2008) (Ballindrait is in Clonleigh parish, Co. Donegal across the Foyle from Strabane) the author writes of the long-serving minister, Rev. Dr. Bewglass “Until the mid-Fifties, baptism was a family sacrament which was carried in the presence of all the family at the family home and not in Ballindrait church as it is today. And I guess there are further options if we should investigate further. All the best, Len Sent from Mail<https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=550986> for Windows 10 From: dm60--- via CoTyroneList<mailto:[email protected]> Sent: Wednesday, 26 May 2021 4:09 AM To: [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> Cc: [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> Subject: [CoTyroneMailingList] Baptisms - elaewhere, not in the church Dear Listers Anyone with examples of where a child was baptised at home or in any place other than the church? Trying to understand how this might have occurred, and under what circumstances. Warm regards Dave Mitchell ================================= Send a Message to the List - [email protected] List Archive - https://list.cotyroneireland.com/empathy/list/cotyronelist.list.cotyroneireland.com Join the list by sending an email to - [email protected] To receive the Digest version, send an email to - [email protected] Unsubscribe by sending an email to - [email protected] =================================
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