Hi Church! 

Each week as we gather for worship we pass by our humble baptismal font. As we depart we pass by it a second time. Some weeks we might pass by without even really noticing it is there. 

However, the font and its placement do have important significance. They mark and remind us of the reality, beauty, and power of baptism. We gather as the church having passed through the waters of baptism, we enter into the presence of Holy God having been baptized into the death and resurrection of Jesus. As we leave the font reminds that we are sent into the world as those baptized, with Jesus as Savior and Lord. We leave as baptized persons having renounced evil, and committed to the way of Christ and to “seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving our neighbors as ourselves” and “strive for justice and peace among all people.”  For a humble piece of furniture the font sure carries a lot of weight! 

This Sunday we have the joy of baptizing Oliver Singthao and Simon Funderburk. As with every baptism this is a significant day for us as a community. We mark the faithfulness of God to Oliver and Simon, and welcome them as brothers into the body of Christ, committing ourselves to support them in knowing and following Jesus. One of the great privileges we have as a community is raising up our children in the knowledge of God and His love and as ministry of the Gospel. Check out this post for some ideas on how we do this in our homes, and please join me in praying for Oliver and Simon. 

Baptism is, of course, a much talked about element of church life. Many of us come from backgrounds and traditions that only baptized those able to make their own “profession of faith,” while others of us were baptized as infants but are unsure of why. Many of us, I suspect, aren’t sure what to make of baptism. With this background in mind we’re hosting a Lunch and Learn following worship on Sunday. In this time I hope to offer some of an explanation for why we baptize infants, but more than that I hope that our time together will encourage us all in remembering and living out the fullness of what baptism means. Whether you have children or not, whether you’ve been baptized or not, consider coming out and learning more about what it means that we share one baptism! 

In Christ,

Peter+