Justis was baptized today. I’m so proud of him. I could tell that he wasn’t just doing this because we wanted him to. He was doing this because he wanted to. And I was really happy about that. I’m glad that he’s choosing this path on his own.

Before I go on, let me tell you what baptism means to a presbyterian; just for some background information. Baptism distinguishes children of those who believe in God’s redemptive power from children of nonbelievers. The water that is used symbolizes three accounts from the Bible’s Old Testament: the waters of creation, the flood described in the story of Noah, and the Hebrews’ escape from slavery in Egypt by crossing the Red Sea. All three stories link humanity to God’s goodness through water. Baptism signifies the faithfulness of God, the washing away of sin, rebirth, putting on the fresh garment of Christ, being sealed by God’s Spirit, adoption into the covenant family of the Church, resurrection and illumination in Christ.

There was an infant that was baptized right before Justis. And, oddly, Lee knew the uncle of that infant. Small world. So after that baptism the pastor invited us up. Justis stood in front and Nicci, Lee and I stood behind him. My grandpa then presented Justis to the congregation.

Before the service, the pastor read through the ceremony and let Justis know what he would be saying. So for twenty minutes before the ceremony Justis kept repeating “I do, I do, I do, I do, I will.” Those were his responses to the questions the pastor was going to ask him. When it came time for his moment Justis actually said “I do, I do, I do, I do, I do.” But that’s ok. I do. I will. Same difference.

After Justis’ acceptance of the presbyterian faith, the pastor asked the congregation for their help in guiding Justis through his religious journey. Following that acceptance, the pastor baptized Justis by placing water on his forehead three times for the three parts of the trinity; the father, the son and the holy ghost.

Then the pastor introduced the newest member of our congregation.

It was all very exciting. Justis did a great job. And the rest of the kids were very good about sitting still. Caleb came up and stood with us before the congregation while Justis was being baptized. He is one who never wants to be left out. But other than that he sat fairly quiet just playing with his dinosaurs.

Following the service, we went to brunch to celebrate this milestone in Justis’ life.

This entry was posted on Sunday, November 27th, 2005 at 2:23 pm and is filed under A day in our life. Comments are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.