tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11000494.post2834856428552825458..comments2023-09-26T02:56:04.683-05:00Comments on Leaves from the Notebook of a Tamed Optimist: Easter Baby QuandryNathan Mattoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01618816092900455135noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11000494.post-77455033858157113382008-03-22T11:42:00.000-05:002008-03-22T11:42:00.000-05:00I was at Riverside Church a few years ago where th...I was at Riverside Church a few years ago where they had infant dedications (which isn't exactly what the UMBOW calls for) and also infant baptisms. <BR/><BR/>Seemed to work for them. <BR/><BR/>I probably have the bulletin which contained the explanations for each.... :)<BR/><BR/>Let us know what you do and how it works out.Scotthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06784668813923290837noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11000494.post-14308617068780301552008-03-18T14:26:00.000-05:002008-03-18T14:26:00.000-05:00Let us know how this situation plays out!Let us know how this situation plays out!DogBloggerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16188110384649189032noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11000494.post-21706957982668311032008-03-18T00:16:00.000-05:002008-03-18T00:16:00.000-05:00You baptize babies?!;-)You baptize <I>babies</I>?!<BR/><BR/>;-)kwpersheyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02313821985751564632noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11000494.post-70328999353370402232008-03-17T16:41:00.000-05:002008-03-17T16:41:00.000-05:00Greetings from Boston, my friend!I believe that if...Greetings from Boston, my friend!<BR/><BR/>I believe that if you do both in the same service, you are setting yourself up to disappoint more than you have indicated. <BR/><BR/>I would worry about the baby-dedication family that celebrates their baby at the opening of worship via the dedication. Then they see the full-out baptism later in the service...and wonder if they got shafted. <BR/><BR/>Even with all the education you can bring with the mighty "water and the spirit"...being in the presence and seeing church ladies crying for the baptism who just repeated rote the call-and-response for a dedication might be too much. <BR/><BR/>I can't read minds, I don't have ESPN turned on...I just think they will be disappointed with a dedication as compared side-by-side with a baptism.<BR/><BR/>Being also i the small church experience, having a day "all to yourself" seems to be preferred. Having a day shared with a baptism that seems to get more liturgical focus (and rightly so!) may lead to more disappointment than the accomodation is worth.<BR/><BR/>Let us know how it works out. I'm interested!<BR/><BR/>~JeremyRev. Jeremy Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10137491388537194847noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11000494.post-89106962190046361892008-03-17T15:55:00.000-05:002008-03-17T15:55:00.000-05:00As one who just baptized an infant this past Sunda...As one who just baptized an infant this past Sunday who has family from three other traditions - Greek Orthodox, Catholic, and Baptist (where the immediate family currently attends), the UMC was the middle ground (and swelled our attendance by 50% for a Sunday). We speak of being baptized into the Holy Church of Christ, not as United Methodists. <BR/>I think there is merit in welcoming the child into the life of the church with dedication - hey we dedicate inanimate objects that will never have a voice in the church, and some may never be used in the local church (e.g. the Operation Christmas Child boxes we send overseas). <BR/>I find this to be a life-affirming opportunity for the church and that family to experience the inbreaking of the Spirit in the world today.<BR/>Peace,Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00185871802128819652noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11000494.post-75439657681731329462008-03-17T15:39:00.000-05:002008-03-17T15:39:00.000-05:00As an infant, my niece was dedicated in the Southe...As an infant, my niece was dedicated in the Southern Baptist church and baptized in the United Methodist church because of her one-foot-in-each-tradition parents. (As an adult, she chose United Methodism for herself.) I would say if they want to "dedicate" the baby, they ought to do it in the church that espouses that particular tradition.<BR/><BR/>But that's just my experience from the 1980s talking.DogBloggerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16188110384649189032noreply@blogger.com