Secondly the service of Holy Communion has become the central act of worship in the average parish. This was not always so. In my early years going to church meant going to Matins or Evensong and only the very holy, and usually elderly, attended Holy Communion at 8am or once a month after Matins when most of us had left, at 12noon. As a result the Holy Communion has become less of a private devotion and more truly the place where we are most fully the Body of Christ. Thirdly there is a new emphasis on baptism as the primary sacrament of initiation.
Infant baptism is no longer the automatic rite of passage that it used to be.
It now represents in most cases a real choice by parents. In ecumenical dialogue there has been a new appreciation of baptism as bringing a person into the community of faith, whatever their age, and through God's grace given in baptism they each become sharers in the life of Christ. We welcome you. A renewed appreciation of the significance of baptism again raises the question of the place of children at the Eucharist. Baptism places the emphasis for participation in the Eucharist on belonging in the community of faith.