Flashback: Kate's Baptism

In writing yesterday's post about Claire's baptism, I realized I only posted three little pics of Kate's baptism three years ago! I did a little party for her after the worship service on her baptism day too, but never shared. And as I said, I love decorating for parties—so I've got to share, even three years after the fact! (And two weeks from now is Kate's third birthday party, so more decorating—woo hoo!)

Dr. Meeks performed Kate's baptism too, and we had a gathering at our house afterwards. It was a sit-down lunch last time, which was a little bit stressful, so I opted for an open-house, more-the-merrier style this time. I did Kate's in pink and yellow.

 We had to have a card table in addition to the main dining room table to accommodate everyone. (The parsonage in Clarksville had one long dining/living-room combo, so both tables were in the same room.)

 I had monogram cookies for Kate too :0)

Can't believe this little angel is going to be three in a couple weeks!

Claire's Baptism

Our sweet baby Claire was baptized yesterday. Knowing that some friends/readers don't believe in infant baptism—I myself was raised Disciples of Christ and baptized on my own volition at age eight—Matt and I have both written posts in the past about why we believe in infant baptism for our children. I think it's funny how Matt's post is based on early church history and theologians, and my reasons for baptizing babies are rooted in my own experience and reasoning about faith formation. If you know us, it kind of makes sense!

Anyway, our celebration of this blessed event was beautiful, as we promised to help Claire learn about God and be like Jesus. Claire was very smiley and talkative yesterday, so angelic and delightful. She wore the heirloom gown Matt's mom made for him in 1980, which his brother wore also, and then Kate in 2009.

I nursed her through most of worship, and then the baptism service (and renewal of baptism for everyone, since it was Baptism of the Lord Sunday) came at the end. Dr. Doug Meeks, our professor at Vanderbilt Divinity School, came as guest preacher and to do the honors. Dr. Meeks' main message came from Isaiah 43:1, "Don’t fear, for I have redeemed you; 
   I have called you by name; 
   you are mine."

The choir sang "God Claims You," from The Faith We Sing songbook. It's like a lullabye and just so beautiful! You plug the child's name into the refrain: "Claire Moriah, God claims you; God helps you, protects you, and loves you too."

After church, we had a little reception at our house. I LOVE to decorate for parties, and did this event in green and pink with flowers, ornaments hanging from the light fixture (70% off at an after-Christmas sale; I thought the pink and green baubles we a nice combo of winter sparkle and springy baby-style), and butterflies (green, sparkly, and an appropriate symbol of rebirth!)

Kate had a great time too, playing with BFF Becca.

 God bless you, Claire Moriah!

The End :0)

(Here are some pics from Kate's baptism, if you're interested :0)

Thoughts on Infant Baptism

We're baptizing Kate Sunday after next. Ten years ago, I never would have thought I would baptize my children as infants. In the Disciples of Christ tradition in which I was raised, a voluntary confession of faith was very important. People came forward (often in their older elementary or early teen years, if they were raised in the church), answered affirmatively the question "Do you believe that Jesus is the Christ, the son of the living God, and do you accept him as your Lord and Savior?", and were baptized a few weeks later.

When I started attending an Episcopal church during my junior year of college, infant baptism was one of the harder things for me to get on board with (and not just because the congregation had to stand for such a long time during the baptismal liturgy that I nearly fainted!) The decision to follow Christ should be made by each person themselves, when they are of an age to cognitively do so, I thought. The decision to start a journey of faith was a personal one that should not be made on someone else's behalf, I thought.

Over time, however, I realized that--for those raised in the church--the journey of faith did not begin at the time of that voluntary, public confession. A child's Christian life begins so much earlier, when parents read them Bible stories and pray before bedtime, and when Sunday school teachers and others nurture them as part of the faith community. Cognitive belief in certain doctrines, such as Jesus' messiahship, takes one's faith to a new level, beginning a significant new leg of the lifelong Christian journey, but it is not really the beginning, nor is it a point of arrival.

After years of learning Bible stories and songs, prayers, Vacation Bible School etc., I made my confession of faith and was baptized at age nine. But there was no time that I remember NOT believing. Like many who grew up in the church, I did not have a "conversion experience" to speak of, but rather it just felt like time to publicly acknowledge the belief in Christ that had been nurtured in me for years. Several years after that, in the summer of 1997, I entered a new stage of my faith journey, in which my relationship with God became much more "real" to me. Fall of 2001 was another period of intense spiritual growth, and on it goes...

Few would argue that the confession of faith is the end of one's Christian journey, but I would say it's not really the beginning either. So, if that is the case, why not baptize at a time closer to the real beginning of one's journey of faith--that is, the beginning of one's life? Matt has more theological reasons for supporting infant baptism, which he will explain in another post and/or podcast, but as for me, April 26 will celebrate the inauguration of Kate's walk with God. We will vow to raise and nurture her in the faith, and induct her into the worldwide community of Christ-followers, each seeking God and growing in relationship with him, step by step.