Marissa and Jacob's Baptism

Cousins Jacob and Marissa were baptized at Foothills Methodist Church at the 10:30am service.  Their immediate families and grandparents stood behind them in support, and our friends, family, and church family who also vowed to support our children as they grow spiritually.  We celebrated affirming our commitment to raise our children in the love of God. 

So what is baptism anyway?  According to the United Methodist Church website: "Baptism is a sacrament. In a sacrament, God uses common elements - in this case, water - as means or vehicles of divine grace. Baptism is administered by the church as the Body of Christ. It is the act of God through the grace of Jesus Christ and the work of the Holy Spirit."

Umm...what does that mean?   It means that we use the basic element of water to symbolize God's grace in our lives.  Getting baptized means that we recognize God's promise, and recognize the opportunity to live in the Holy Spirit that will always be in our lives.  It is then up to us to live up to that promise and honor God's offer of salvation by living a life that reflects God's love throughout our lives. 

Being too young to understand that, Marissa and Jacob are dependent on God's grace and on us.  It is our job as parents, grandparents, extended family, friends, and our church family, to cultivate that spirituality in their (and in our own) lives. 

We thank Pastor Eric Smith and Pastor Jeannette Ham for a lovely service.  Pastor Eric did a great job holding up Jacob and Marissa.  I am also happy to have a wonderful church community who we are getting to know better, and who share the common values that shape our lives. 

Marissa and Jacob with their parents: (Consider it a photo success that we can see everyone's' faces at the same time.)

 Our family with Pastor Eric and Pastor Jeannette:

Marissa and her mommy and daddy:

Then we came to our house for lunch and quality time with family and friends who were there.

We were also happy for a few more moments with Cousins Laurie & Charlie before their flight back to Massachusetts this week.