I’m a parent and would like to perform the baptism for my child. Is that allowed?

In our tradition, baptisms are most appropriately administered by someone who has been vetted and ordained by the church community - namely, an elder. Some elders are seminary-trained, ordained pastors, but most are non-clergy. They’ve been examined by their community and serve as a spokesperson, a representative, for the community as a whole. Elders are the gatekeepers of the church community; if baptism is the symbolic “doorway” in, then elders should be involved.

That being said, it is our joy to include parents in the baptism process, a parent on one side, the pastor or elder on the other. Of course, if a parent is an elder, they can officiate the whole thing, but we recommend having others involved to communicate that the Spiritual family is more than just the biological or nuclear family.