Benjamin introduces the Baptismal Font
Well, hello again. It looks like someone caught me. If you’ve been to one of the community’s worship gatherings, you’ve probably noticed that there is always a bowl of water in the center of the gathering. Everyone sits in a large circle, with the altar near the windows, and this bowl of water in the middle. Each Sunday, when the community gathers to worship God, they always start by putting their hands in this bowl of water. I wasn’t sure what they were doing and it seemed strange to me. But, every week someone will read about water with stories from the Bible and then the priest will bless the water while making the sign of the cross over it. And after watching this community for a while, I just had to figure out what these folks were up to. And, as you can see in the photo, someone spotted me.
But, do you know what? They didn’t shoo me away! They let me stay and participate. Who knew even a church mouse would be welcomed. But, I learned that that’s the whole point of what they were doing. To get a better understanding of why the community does this each Sunday, I snuck a peak at their order of worship. Right there at the very top it said, “In our Baptismal Covenant, we affirm that we will strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being. To remember our baptismal promises, that all are God’s beloved, and that we are all one in Christ, we begin each worship gathering with the Blessing of the Water.” Can you believe it? These folks start each worship gathering remembering that everyone is a beloved child of God. And they do it at the font, and I learned that the word "font" comes from the Latin fons, meaning "spring" or "fountain," representing spiritual birth and cleansing. And, I found out that baptism is a sacrament that symbolizes entry into the body of Christ and the start of a lifelong Christian journey. Every Sunday this community remembers their baptismal vows too. And, if you ask me, The Episcopal Church has some mighty serious vows.
Did you know that in their community, when someone is baptized, they promise to renounce Satan and all the spiritual forces of wickedness that rebel against God, to renounce the evil powers of this world which corrupt and destroy the creatures of God, to renounce all sinful desires that draw us from the love of God, to turn to Jesus and to put our trust in his grace and love, to continue in the apostles teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in the prayers, to persevere in resisting evil, and whenever we fall into sin to repent and return to the Lord, to proclaim the Good News by word and example, to seek and serve God in all persons, loving our neighbor as ourselves. And, they promise to strive for justice and peace among all people and to respect the dignity of every human being. Whew, that little bowl of water is reminding this community of a lot!
What really gets me about the way this community remembers the promises they made in baptism, is what I learned about how this practice started. I overheard the priest, Phillip, telling someone the story. It’s amazing what you can learn when you are a quiet church mouse and nobody notices you.
Anyway, I learned that from the very first time this community gathered, the baptismal font was in the center of the gathering. But, for the first few Sundays, Phillip would bless the water before the service. Then, one Sunday, someone entered The Trees during the blessing. She immediately asked if she should leave while the water was being blessed. When asked why she would leave, she explained that when she was growing up as a young girl in the Catholic Church, she would have never been allowed to participate in something like this. Well, I’ll have you know, that from that moment on everyone present, even a little church mouse, has been invited to join in the blessing of the water. That’s just the kind of thing The Beloved Community would do. They really do take welcoming everyone seriously, as seriously as they take their baptismal vows. It sure makes me feel good to be there. Maybe you’ll come join us sometime soon too. If you do, be sure you touch the water and remember your baptism! Hopefully, I’ll see you soon.
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