Looking for non-strict Catholic Church for baptism
Hello. Does anyone know of any Catholic Churches in the area that are not your typical strict Catholic Church to have a babies baptism at? Also a good hall to have a party after? Thanks in advance.
Tim Tim
My brother's 2 children were both baptized at the Episcopalian Church a the corner of Moore and Washington. Our family was brought up Catholic, but his ex may have been raised Episcopalian. I'm not sure what you mean by "less strict", whether it be a "mixed religion" marriage, etc. (those details you may wish private, so I won't ask), but the Episcopalian Church is essentially the American Branch of the Anglican (Church of England). The Rites are very similar to the Roman Catholic Rites, however they are much more "open and welcoming" to situations "out of the norm" so to speak, which the Catholic Church may not be as accepting of.
I'm not positive as to whether the Catholic Church accepts their baptism however, since they weren't baptized in "their" church.
Phil D. 
ScottB Tim - You may want to search through some previous comments on the forum. From what's been said in the past, you may want to check out Our Lady of the Mountain in Long Valley on Schooley's Mountain Road at the corner of Springtown Road. Very large active Catholic community.
http://ourladyofthemountain.org/
Phil D. is correct that the Anglican church is probably the closest to Catholic of any Protestant churches. (which my fraternal grandparents were very active in) In the US that's known as Episcopalian. If you decide to go non-Catholic then that might be an alternative, and I know several of the people involved in St James located on Washington St at the corner with Moore. Great outreach programs and "non-strict" while being very close to Catholic.
http://stjameshackettstown.org/
ScottB suggest another idea - I don't know if Methodist could really be described as close to Catholic at all, but it's very accepting, non-strict and could be another idea. Our local Trinity church is associated with Centenary and has a very strong following.
http://www.catchthespirit.org/
All are worth looking into depending on what your needs are.
Also on the subject of the party afterwards, there are forum posts about various local halls available. The Legion does that, so does Independence Fire Hall, as well as the Knights of Columbus. The renovated Mountain Lake Fire Hall is great and a serious choice as well. All of those have comments on previous posts. Do a search and ask more questions if you need them. There are restaurants that can do it but depends on your budget and number of people. Also many forum comments on that as well.
GC Not sure what you mean by "strict" but no Catholic priest can deny a child's christening. With that said St. Peter & Paul in Great Meadows is our church and they are very accommodating. One of our sponsors could not make it and he let us have an alternate.
iChristine You can also rent the Hall at St. James Episcipalian for functions. Very welcoming church.
Nature Lover The more money you bring, the less strict the Catholic church becomes in my experience.
eapos 
Solomon Not sure exactly what you mean. A neighbor of mine over 25 years ago had moved into the area from out of state. She called me one day to ask if I knew of a church that would baptize her child, as the Catholic church wouldn't. She had attended Catholic school for many years, got married by the Justice of Peace, moved to NJ and then bought a house in our area. Having not been married in the church or belonging to a church yet none of the area CATHOLIC churches would baptize her child. I called Trinity church and asked Dr. Fowler about this and he told me he would, as baptism is universal. My neighbor had the child baptized, took classes on the differences of the Catholic and Methodist faiths, and then became Methodist, where their children were later confirmed. So, I don't think you will find a non-strict one in the area unless things have changed greatly in the past 25 years. Good luck.
Magpie Roughly 9 years ago, I was asked to be the godfather for a friend's son. Not long before the baptism, St. Mary's told the parents that they would not be able to do it if I was the godfather due to me not being Catholic, so they ended up finding an alternate godfather.
For another friend, in PA, I was almost not allowed to be his Best Man because I wasn't Catholic, but they ended up making an exception.
Rich The Catholic church has relaxed their rules a bit in some areas. I'm not sure where they stand on Baptism. As a God Parent you are promising to raise the child in the Catholic faith. You don't have to BE Catholic to do that. Why not call a church and ask about the requirements. In my opinion there shouldn't be any for baptizing an innocent child, in any religion.
Parental unit Thank you all. My wife and I are new to the area so we figured we'd get some suggestions. We were both brought up Catholic but are not practicing and want to bring up our son Catholic as well. By non strict I meant that usually there are a lot of requirements for the parents and god parents. I will look into the ones you all mentioned and we appreciate your help. Thanks again.
@ Tim. Being that you and your wife are both Catholic and you wish to bring your child up Catholic, my suggestion would be to call the church and make an appointment with the priest. If you live in Hackettstown, start with St. Mary's. There are also two other Catholic churches pretty close as mentioned.
Many people are in or have been through your very situation...raised in the church...leave the church....have kids...come back to the church. Very common. You won't get any definite answer, one way or another on this forum :)
Best of luck to you and your family.
I attend Sts. Peter and Paul in Great Meadows. I assume your child is a baby, but one thing I love about that church is they include the kids in all parts of the Mass that is allowed. They do the announcements, the readings, the collections, guide people going up for Communion and bring up the gifts. Once your child is old enough, he/she could be chosen for these jobs and they (especially the little ones) just beam when they are chosen. A drawback is the priests are Polish with a thick accent and sometimes can be difficult to understand, but they are very nice, and they often will use a deacon who in his homily will gear it to the children and ask for volunteers to assist him. It makes them feel so important.
Soooo meDefinitely talk to Deacon jim at Our Lady of the Mountain...he will sit down with you and discuss what is necessary to be baptized in the Catholic faith with no pressure
Ziggy 
htownnewbie We went with St Jude in Budd Lake (20 years ago) for the same reasons you mentioned. The other local churches at the time required both parents to take classes and basically be approved first. St Jude's attitude was the kid is innocent and they didn't put requirements on getting them baptized.
Joe M I was raised Church of England and when I got married my ex was Jewish. So I found a church closest to my religion here and it was St James. The Reverend who baptized my son also wrote a beautiful letter to him for when he was older. Explaining that no matter what faith we are all loved in God's eyes. My husband at the time was not made to feel uncomfortable and we were in total agreement on choosing this path.
Natari I totally understand what you mean by "non-strict". I was a member of St. Mary's; the Godfather was a member of St. Mary's; and the Godmother was Catholic. Father David would not allow her to be the Godmother because she was not married in the Catholic Church although she had received all other sacraments including confirmation. I argued that she should be allowed under the Christian Sponsor designation, but Father David refused. I contacted a bishop, who said it was not church doctrine, but it was Father David's parish, and he called the shots. I switched to Good Shepherd in Andover.
Observer3 Another vote for Good Shepherd in Andover. A great Catholic Church. The priests are wonderful and give great homilies and the Choir is wonderful. A great Catholic Church in the area.
My children were baptized at Our Lady of the Mountain in Long Valley. The godparents I chose were not parishioners (my family is from Bergen county) and they were not asked to verify that they are practicing Catholics, etc. They even accommodated a Saturday ceremony for us upon request, for both my children. As for a hall, we had our oldest child's post-baptismal party at David's Country Inn and our youngest at Mattar's. Good luck! Hope that helps!
NJMamaOfTwo Call St. Mary's and ask to speak with Deacon Walter. He is very helpful and does the baptisms himself. If someone isn't Catholic they can not be a "godparent" but they can be a sponsor I think which is basically the same thing.
Katee, Father David of St. Mary's would not allow a Catholic, who had not been married in the church, to be a sponsor. His own rule not Canon Law, which allows one Catholic Godparent and a Christian Sponsor. Although Catholics are Christians, he would not perform the baptism unless I picked a different sponsor. If the "Godmother" was Lutheran, she could be a sponsor, but under Father David's rule, a Catholic cannot be a sponsor unless he/she passes all of his benchmarks. This rule is made up by Father David, so in my opinion, St. Mary's is the strictest Catholic Church in the area. Granted, this event occurred a long time ago. Maybe under Pope Francis and the Year of Mercy, Father David would be more tolerant. I hope so.
St Luke in long valley baptizes without interrogation, and will make you feel proud to be a catholic! Father mike is the most understanding priest I have ever met.
RosieG Try St Lukes in Long Valley. My husband and I couldn't be happier and my kids even love going to church! We call it the most "soft" Catholic Church we have ever been to; ) Very welcoming parish where ALL are made to feel at home.
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