baby's dedication service

[annetizzismum]

The church i have started going to don't have traditional christenings where you have a font and mark the sign of the cross with holy water etc; instead they have what they call dedications.

The wording seems strange to me. Something along the lines of "If God were to call upon ..... to lead a life of great sacrifice would you not hold him / her back but allow him / her to lead such a life as it is God's will"

Anyone else come across this, what does it mean

[tinytitch]

the church that i used to go to did this (they also did traditional baptisms). i think certain churches would rather that children made their own decision later on (in there teens) rather than their parents making the descision for them. How many parents take there baby to church and make promises to turn to christ and denounce evil and never set foot in the door afterwards? I personally think it is a much nicer idea to have a dedication.

[annetizzismum]

its just people i mentioned it to think it sounds wrong, like you shouldnt agree to it and that you shouldnt want your child to lead a life of sacrifice

[tinytitch]

i think what they mean is that being a christian means sacrifice in one form or another - putting god before you, maybe not doing things peers do because of your beliefs.
I would like to add that i no longer go to church so i am a bit out of date, do your church give baptism classes for parents? Our church did they insisted that parents went to 3 informal talks before you could book a date, i found them very interesting and it gave me a chance to ask loads of questions.