Time for Baptisms
Our prayer book notes that there are five liturgical occasions when baptisms are especially appropriate: the Baptism of Jesus, Easter Vigil, Pentecost, All Saints’ Day, and whenever the bishop comes to visit (p. 312). There is no prohibition against celebrating a baptism on another day, but the nature of those observances lends itself to the theology of Baptism. Also, because they are big moments in the life of a parish, on those days one can reasonably expect to baptize a new member of the Body of Christ when the Body of Christ is present. Baptism is not about sprinkling holy water on someone’s head so that we can keep them out of hell. Baptism is a celebration of an individual’s full incorporation into the community of the redeemed. As such, baptisms not only affect the candidate being baptized but the whole congregation that takes part and receives the newly baptized into its fellowship.
That is why we have not had any baptisms at St. Paul’s since January—because physical distancing requirements have made it difficult both for families to come for a baptism and for the congregation to come and take part in it. Since the start of the pandemic, we have already missed three occasions for baptism, and soon it will be four. In our parish, because of the large number of families who want to have a child baptized, we usually ask the bishop for permission to observe the feast of the Transfiguration on a Sunday in order to add a sixth occasion for baptism. You might remember that we also offer outdoor baptisms on that Sunday primarily as a way to enable the women at the NWACCC who would like to be baptized or reaffirm their baptismal vows to be fully immersed. This August, however, the font will stay empty, but I hope that will not be true for long.
The next baptismal feast on our calendar is All Saints’ Day, November 1. Although we do not know what the pandemic will bring between now and then, if we are going to have any baptisms that day, we need to begin planning now. If it is possible for a small congregation to gather safely outside for a service of Holy Baptism, we will offer that service on Sunday afternoon, November 1. We know that the whole congregation cannot be physically present, but we plan to livestream the service in order that you can take part. Participation in person will be limited, and families of baptismal candidates likely will need to restrict the number who come to a small group of immediate family members and godparents or sponsors. This arrangement will not appeal to everyone, and those who prefer to wait until we can all gather together again should do that. But there are people who are eager to become members of the Body of Christ, and we want to do everything that we can to make that possible.
If you or someone in your family would like to be baptized, please let us know by emailing Samantha Clare for children, Emma Mitchell for youth, or me for adults. On October 21, we will have an online baptismal preparation class, and on October 31 we will have an in-person rehearsal.
The service will be very different from our usual baptismal celebrations, but I suspect that it will have an authenticity and urgency that reflects other moments in our Christian history. In every generation, the church has found ways to celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus as it becomes real in the lives of its people. Sometimes we have needed to baptize new Christians in secret for fear of persecution. Other times we have chosen to baptize individuals in private because of convenience. In this strange time, we seek to celebrate baptisms as expressions of our congregational life even when our congregation cannot be present, and, in order to do that, we all need to find ways to join in the celebration. Hopefully, we can do that together on November 1.
Yours Faithfully,
Evan