Baptism Day

Dave and I grew up in different religious denominations. He is Catholic while I'm Presbyterian. Our faith has always been important to both of us and even before we got married we had discussed how we wanted to teach Owen about God and help him develop his own faith. Neither one of us wanted to give up our faith tradition, and we decided that neither one of us had to do that. One of the things we decided was important was that we're all in this together. Whether we're at a Catholic church, a Presbyterian church or any other church, what matters to us is that it is an experience we're sharing as a family. Another thing we decided that was important was recognizing that faith is more than just practicing a denomination's religious practices. Although we will teach Owen about both of our religious traditions, what is most important that Owen knows that Jesus loves him, that he has the opportunity to develop his own faith in God, and that is accepting of all people -- regardless of their faith. A third thing we decided was important is the faith community. We want Owen to know that the people in his faith community love him and support him. We want people at church to know his name and for Owen to have peers that he'll grow up with to learn about Jesus (and have a little fun together too). All the talk over the years about what we wanted was good, and now it's finally time to start putting our thoughts into action.

Yesterday was Owen's baptism. I didn't truly realize how much his baptism would mean to me until it happened. Our pastor did a great job of making the whole church service special for Owen. He didn't cry during the baptism -- he actually smiled as the water was put upon his head. His is loved by his family, his faith community and of course, by God. May Owen always know the love and support we have for him.

J.B.