Written after visiting my first grandchild. Baby smells waft into my nostrils. A pattering heart pulsates in my embrace. Tearlets moisten my eyes. Powerful hope swirls through my core. This is my body. This is my blood. God’s own child rests in my arms. By what name shall this child be called? Hope. Promise. Future. […]
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Written to welcome a newborn grandson, Jim’s beautiful and wise words can be adapted easily for any grandchild. My dear grandson, Jacob – Precious crown of creation swaddled in a blanket, Sleeping deep in heavenly peace – To the Love who is God I give thanks for your birth, And on behalf of this world […]
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This service has been adapted from the closing worship service at the 2014 Cardiff Assembly of the United Reformed Church in Great Britain, where all those gathered had the opportunity to renew their baptism vows. A young adult, who will be referred to as ‘Londiwe,’ approached me, their minister, having had a transformative spiritual experience. As […]
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Holy God, forgive us, for we have forgotten our baptism. You call us to draw near, but we turn away in fear and shame. You call us to love our neighbor, but we allow our distrust and preoccupations to justify our indifference. You call us to love ourselves, but the voices of insecurity and self-criticism […]
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The Holy Spirit propels Philip to the Ethiopian – a dramatisation Acts 8:26-40 (Year B, Easter 4) This might be incorporated into a celebration of baptism or the renewal of baptismal vows. Actors/readers: Philip, Ethiopian, Storyteller (Narrator), Angel, Spirit Complete scripts — ready to download and print (2-sided): Drama, Acts 8, Philip & Ethiopian PDF Drama, […]
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Written on a card available in the Cathedral… This Holy Water Stoup … contains water blessed and set apart to remind us of the new life which God give us in Jesus. Christians are baptised into God’s life in Jesus by having water poured over them symbolising dying and being born again; leaving behind everything […]
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Pray with me. God, come close and speak our names. Remind us that we are fully known and loved. God, thank you… for calling us by name. Come close to us, re-claim us for life. God, thank you… for calling us by name. Come close to us, and never let us go. God, […]
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Baptism services often include several children in the congregation, and I want them to be involved and interested. So, I often incorporate into the service a reflection/activity which includes group participation. I ask a group of volunteers, ideally children and youth, to come forward. (The number of volunteers corresponds to the number of letters in […]
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Let us prayerfully focus on this water, as I pour it into the bowl, and as we do, let each of us infuse it with our commitments to share with (this child / name) the unique gifts that God has given us, gifts (this child / name) will need from us as s/he goes along […]
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We are here to praise God for the life of /Name/, our young friend, who in such a short time has brought us so much joy. Through /Name/ we have experienced birth again in a new and more conscious way; in him, God has created the world again, opening us to wonder and possibility that […]
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Our stories lie down in the orchard, their time is not now, but something is coming, something is going away. They rise to the stars, and wait to be told. There are listeners who know how little we know, how much we are feeling. We had to go our own way, a little off course, […]
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Year A: Third Sunday of Easter A Prayer based on Acts 2:14a,36-4 God of new beginnings, Today we remember our baptisms: A day shrouded in an infant’s hidden memory A day chiselled in the sharp memory of a teenager A day gloriously shining in the memory of a new convert. Your promises live in […]
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