Hello friends,
This Sunday in worship we will renew our baptism. Be ready with water!
I am thinking about the things we renew. We renew wedding vows, and that reminds us of what we promised maybe years and years ago. We renew our driver’s license and that enables us to drive in the years ahead. We renew a subscription so we can continue to receive a service now.
Why renew our baptism?
Have you thought about your baptism lately?
(And let me say right here, the ritual of baptism is a beautiful act of the church recognizing that we belong to God and God’s family. If you have not been baptized, and you would like to be, let me know!)
I was baptized as a baby in Jesup, Iowa in the Presbyterian Church. My parents, Don and Lucille, in their twenties young and full of life, long before my infant self came to know them or remember them, walked to the front of the church, their arms full of me. They were so out of place there. My father was an auto mechanic, and my mother a housewife. Public displays were not their thing. And yet, they did it. They handed me over to a pastor who held me up to the church, and my family and the whole church were so excited that God had done such an amazing miracle in creating a human (me), that they celebrated with a baptism. With the whole church looking on, I was baptized “In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.”
And there I was, a member of the household of God with all that means. God, the presence of strength and comfort and peace, recognized as my holy parent. The people of the church, also members of the household of God, living as sisters and brothers to be sharing the adventure of our faith.
I think I had forgotten about my baptism and what it means. And that’s why I need to renew my baptism. I need to look back on the vows made so long ago and reflect on how they have played out in my life. I need to renew my baptism so that I can carry it into the future. I need to renew my baptism so that I can live it today. A fresh sense of that water that was placed on my forehead, and a renewed acceptance that what God said to Jesus, God has said to me, “This is my beloved child in whom I am pleased.”
It is so easy to forget that we are baptized and that we are loved by God. Maybe when we greet one another we should say, “Hey you, baptized person!” just to remind us of who we belong to and how we are loved.
So Sunday we will renew our baptism. Hope you will join in the celebration.
Blessings this day,
Pastor Cindy
Pastor Cindy Hickman
West Des Moines United Methodist Church
720 Grand Ave
West Des Moines Iowa 50265
515-279-0826
Like us on Facebook or visit us at wdmumc.org.
Worship online at 9:30 Sunday mornings and our worship service is posted all week long. Join us this week to renew your baptism!
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