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Baptism: Reflections

  Baptism We're scheduled to celebrate Holy Baptism on All Saints Sunday, Nov. 7. It seemed to me that it might be useful to reflect on "baptism" in general as we approach this watershed time in the lives of Bill and Melody's grandchildren, Anna Claire Powell and Reid William Taylor. One of the songs I love to sing on that day is "When the saints go marching in." It's not because I'm a New Orleans Saints fan. It is, perhaps, because in my teens I adored the music of Louis Armstrong. For me, the inclusion of Jazz music into the liturgy brings joy to my smile. Memorably the first verse includes: Oh, when the saints go marching in Oh Lord I want to be in that number We might associate that with a future time of deliverance. The original song no doubt did. But it has always been for me a song very much about the living. Dancing, processing, with vibrancy and passion. That's the tone that the service of baptism has for me. Baptism ritual As...
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Be who you are

Congregational Size Sizing up a congregation In the 80’s and 90’s much was made about a study that sought to identify different characteristics in congregations of different sizes. It’s a common sense kind of observation that a congregation of 1,800 baptized members is going to be different from one that has, say, 50 members. From that time there emerged a kind of working vocabulary that allowed for conversations among church members and leaders. Over the years I have found it useful, not in a prescriptive sort of way but more as a reminder that size matters, that the needs of a small “family” sized church are quite different from the expectations of a larger “program” sized church. cell or family sized church: x < 50 pastoral sized church: 50 > x < 150 program sized church: 150 > x < 350 corporate sized church: 350 > x The numbers themselves are old numbers and, in any case, were rough estimates even then. A description of the basic schema can be found at:  https...
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Holy Days beginning December

When we get to the end of November and the beginning of this December we enter a particularly sacred time for me personally. The church calendar presents with the series of holy days that over the years have had a particularly profound effect on my life. Queen Lili'uokalani -- King Kamehameha & Queen Emma: Nov. 11, Nov. 28. The first of these holy days have to do with Hawaiian royalty, and I didn't have any idea of a personal connection until 2001 when I responded to a call to do ministry there. I have 3 daughters and each of their names is associated with Hawaiian queens or princesses. The last queen died on Nov. 11 and a petition is being circulated to get her placed on the calendar of Lesser Feasts and Fasts . King Kamehameha and Queen Emma have been on the calendar for many decades. They brought the Anglican Church to the islands. Dorothy Day: Nov. 29 Dorothy Day died on Nov. 29. Her case is being pursued for sainthood in the Catholic Church. Ever since learning...
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