Dedicating to Christen at the Baptism

Ok, so in the past year I have witnessed several baby dedications, attended a couple of christenings, and also flew to Ohio for my nephew's baptism. It seems that when we have a baby, we want to make sure they grow up to be strong children of God, but we all do it differently. I know it's confusing to me - dedications vs. christenings vs baptisms - so I thought I would do some research and share what I found with you.

A little clarification:

Dedication

Definition: A ceremony that welcomes the baby into the church and dedicates her to God as well as the parents dedicating themselves to raising the child in the things of God. This is not done using water, as churches who do dedications typically reserve water baptisms for those who are old enough to make the choice to be baptized.

Parental Responsibility: On About.com, I read this that I liked:
"Christian parents who dedicate a child are making a promise to the Lord to do everything within their power to raise the child in a godly way, prayerfully until he or she can make a decision on his or her own to follow God. Parents who make this vow of commitment are instructed to raise the child in the ways of God, and not according to their own ways. Some of the responsibilities include teaching and training the child in God's Word, demonstrating an example of godliness, disciplining according to God's ways, and praying earnestly for the child. "

Also, typically Godparents are chosen to serve as additional examples for the child, teaching them about scripture and showing them what it means to be Christians.

Baptism

Definition: A process of purification and restoration by being washed with water. Almost all Christians believe in baptism at some stage in life. In the Catholic Church and some Protestant religions, this is done at the infant stage. This is because these religions believe that baptism removes the guilt and punishment of original sin. They believe that if the parents wait until the baby gets older, they may be risking the child's salvation.

Parental Responsibility: The responsibility of the parents is very similar to that of a baby dedication.

Christening

Definition: I have found information concerning the use of the word Christening to be conflicting. I have seen several cases where "Christening" is interchangeable with baby dedications, as well as it being interchangeable with baptisms. Also, I have found several sources that say a Christening is the naming of a child in the church, which I confirmed with the official definition of the word. I also know that part of the baptism ceremony is to name the baby, so in that case, Christening is a part of baptism.

So, I think I have a clear idea of the difference between baby dedications and baptisms, but if someone asks me to come to their baby's Christening, I think I may need to ask more to find out exactly which one they mean. The moral of the story is that we all want our children to grow up knowing and loving God and it is our responsibility as parents and Godparents to teach the child about the Word of God and to be a strong example of how to become a person of Godly integrity, faith and love.