Today at church we had a baptism. The church I attend is quite an eclectic church - very different from the one which I was raised. Although the ritual was incompatible to those I grew up witnessing, they still echoed the same familiar purpose and joy. Like those of my childhood, it was an opportunity, acknowledgment, and dedication of one persons aspirations to connect and express the holy... and an invitation for the community to support them in their endeavors.

This mornings baptism however, stopped there. It didn't delve into attaining salvation or proclaiming victory over evil - and for those reasons, I attend this church as often as I can. I was able to get my hands on a copy of the service and transcribed it below.  Because of the church's diversity, this was written specifically for the individuals baptism. There are a few sections that I don't necessarily connect with, but the over-arching message resonates deeply with my heart and own personal expression of Source: 


"Today we share in a celebration of rebirth and new beginnings. We do this through the sacrament of baptism. A sacrament is an outer, visible, and physical symbol of an inner, spiritual and emotional transformation.

At The Church Within, that transformation finds meaning in three Truths: There are many paths to your personal awareness and experience of God; that all people are holy; and that only love – that harmonizing, unifying power of the universe – is ultimately real.


Let us pray:
God, because you are the source of all life and love and being, we call you Creator.

Because we know the history of your presence among all peoples, we call you Sovereign.

Because we are your children and we know you intimately and can speak of you so, we call you Father.

Because you are present in the act of birth and because you shelter, nurture and care for us, we call you Mother.

Because you hold us up and give us strength and courage when we are in need, we call you Sustainer.

Because you have known us in our pain and suffering, we call you Comforter.

Because you are the means of liberation and the way of freedom, we call you Deliverer.

Because you have chosen tot care for us and about our common lot; because your love has shown us how to live a new and full life, we call you Redeemer.

Confident of your presence in our lives, we call upon you with our hearts and minds, assured of your love and compassion for all persons. Amen.


[Addressing Congregation]
This celebration is a sharing within community. {Person being baptized}, you share with us this special moment, this acknowledgement of the on-going cycles of your life’s journey.

We- this church and congregation – share with you a covenant of love and support. We offer it unconditionally. We hope that your belief in this covenant will support you in finding, within yourself, an expression of the Divine and the knowledge of yourself as a beloved child of God.

We pledge to you that we will always look beyond appearances to behold your indwelling Divine Spirit.  In so doing, we encourage you to express this perfect Self through your words and actions.

We will listen to your dreams, understand your doubts, acknowledge your efforts, support your hopes, walk with you through your fears, laugh with you, play with you, and grow with you through all your days.

We commit ourselves to share the Truth with you in love, to nurture and nourish our own personal relationship with God so that you might come to know, through our example, that your relationship with God, our Source, is now and will always be your primary relationship. And so it is.


[Reverend dips hands in blessed water]
I baptize you in the name of God our Father/Mother, that Spirit of Truth in whom we live and move and have our being;

[Reverend dips hands in blessed water again]
And of God the Son, the Eternal Christ, ever-present in every person and in all creation;

[Reverend dips hands in blessed water again]
And of God the Holy Spirit, the ever un-folding power of love, wisdom, and understanding that guides and supports our every step. Amen. "



After the baptism someone led meditation and prayer in which they said:
"Be still and know that I Am God.
Be still and know that I Am.
Be still and know.
Be still.
Be."

I've never broken down that phrase to such an extent, but each word is so full of intention and power.
Today I shall practice "being" a bit more.

- bobs