Asking the Clergy: What is your favorite religious rite?

From Newsday-

Spiritual leaders are called upon to officiate at a variety of celebrations — baptisms, bat and bar mitzvahs, weddings — and, of course, services marking the upcoming religious holidays. This week’s clergy discuss the joy and satisfaction that come from leading especially meaningful rituals.

The Rev. Winfred B. Vergara

Priest in charge, Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, Hicksville

Of all the sacramental rites I perform as priest of the Episcopal Church, my favorite is baptism. Baptism is a sacrament because it has an outward symbol and an inward grace. The symbol is water and the grace is new life in Christ.

After pouring water on her forehead in the baptismal formula, I would often raise a child (a la “The Lion King”) to signify that she is born again. In adult baptism, I would sometimes do immersion in the river, sea or swimming pool. The symbolism is that the person dies from sin (is drowned) and rises again to a new life in the spirit.

More here-

https://www.newsday.com/long-island/religion/asking-the-clergy-what-is-your-favorite-religious-rite-1.35660012

Dover’s St. Dunstan’s Episcopal Church to offer Open Baptism

 From Massachusetts-

On Sunday, June 9, at 10 a.m., St. Dunstan’s Episcopal Church, 18 Springdale Ave., Dover, will hold its first-ever open baptism. The open baptism service is available for anyone who desires to be baptized or have a child baptized regardless of their relationship with the Episcopal Church or any church, for that matter.

Holy Baptism is a rite of welcome into the Christian Church where the baptized are reminded of God’s love for them. Anyone who has never been baptized is welcome to participate.

Rev. Sean Leonard, St. Dunstan’s rector, said, “We are glad to offer this service to our friends and neighbors in Dover. Baptism is a wonderful moment in a person’s life where all are reminded of God’s deep love for them.”

More here-

https://www.enterprisenews.com/news/20190602/dovers-st-dunstans-episcopal-church-to-offer-open-baptism

The Reason for Baptism before Communion

From The Living Church-

In Up With Authority, Victor Austin asserts that rules and authority are needed for us to be our best selves ([T&T Clark, 2010], p. 1). His argument’s foundation comes from Thomas Aquinas, who says that rules, “properly speaking, regard first and foremost the order of the common good” and should reflect God’s nature and purposes (Summa Theologiae, Part I-II, Q. 90, A. 3). “Authority does not come upon us because of some tragic flaw in human beings,” Austin writes. “Rather … authority is [the] manifestation of the glory of being human” (p. 1).

I cite Austin and Aquinas because of the debate occurring throughout the Episcopal Church regarding Communion without baptism, allowing or actively inviting unbaptized persons to receive the Eucharist. This practice has become known by many throughout the Church as Open Communion, which is the wrong terminology. (Open Communion involves allowing baptized Christians from all Christian churches, baptized in the Name of God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, to receive the Eucharist in the Episcopal Church.)

More here-

https://livingchurch.org/covenant/2019/03/07/the-reason-for-baptism-before-communion/?fbclid=IwAR3JCJpRRCCAXvCfwYVke0WXfKYdWKx8ay7Lp3QY65M_ubhb4ey1ni09ZJg

Just one in ten babies is baptised into the Church of England

From The Daily Mail-

Only one in ten babies is baptised into the Church of England – and in London, the figure is even lower at three in every 100, a national breakdown of the Church’s strength has revealed.

The tiny minority of infants who are introduced to Christianity by the CofE in London is mirrored in other major cities.

In Birmingham, only 5 per cent of babies are christened by the Anglican church; in Bristol it’s 6 per cent; in Manchester 8 per cent; and in Nottingham 9 per cent.

But the proportion of newborn children who are baptised is much higher in provincial towns and rural areas. In the Hereford diocese, for example, one in four babies is christened by the CofE.

More here-

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6634187/Just-one-ten-babies-baptised-Church-England.html

A GOOD MAP FOR THE JOURNEY

From The Living Church-

I have been working on a book about the basic beliefs and practices of the Episcopal Church, and every now and then I like to crowdsource what I write. Recently I asked my Facebook friends what they understand to be happening when we baptize someone. “Nothing at all,” a few people said with startling boldness. Several others said baptism recognizes that God already loves us, but that no change is effected in the sacrament. To be sure, some people did give answers that sounded orthodox.

I have been saying for a few years that we have a catechetical crisis in the Episcopal Church, and this Facebook exchange confirmed what I suspected. Many among the laity, and not a few of our clergy, do not seem to grasp the fundamental meaning and purpose of baptism and Eucharist. This is a problem in its own right, and it must surely color any conversation about prayer book revision.

The 1979 Book of Common Prayer has a much-vaunted baptismal ecclesiology. But what good is that if we have not taught the members of our church about baptism? We have moved to a weekly celebration of the Eucharist in nearly every congregation, but to what end?

More here-

https://livingchurch.org/covenant/2017/01/23/a-good-map-for-the-journey/

The baptismal covenant, the norm of adult baptism, and mission

From The Living Church-

Liturgical scholar Louis Weil recently recalled predicting that the Episcopal Church would need at least 50 years to implement the revisions of the 1979 Book of Common Prayer.[1] One key area that still requires implementation is the revised baptismal liturgy, and particularly its baptismal covenant.

The baptismal covenant is, of course, a cornerstone of Episcopalians’ self-identity, and frequent appeal is made to its fifth and final interrogation: “Will you strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being?” (p. 305). Of course, appeals to the covenant tend to be imbalanced: there is a lot more enthusiasm for striving for justice and human dignity than there is for cultivating repentance or holding fast to apostolic teaching (p. 304). Nevertheless, in what it affirms and requires, the covenant is a welcome addition.

That said, the baptismal covenant has a lot more to offer Episcopalians than what we’ve appropriated thus far. In particular, it has the potential to maneuver us into a far more missional understanding of the Church and our Christian vocation. The covenant does this through its contents, calling upon us to affirm the faith in the Apostles’ Creed, to proclaim the faith in “word and example,” and to embody the faith in our work for justice in the world, even as it recognizes the priority of God’s acting in us to carry this out. The Creed’s account of Christ’s saving work comes first; each question is met with the response that with God’s help the baptized will do so; and prayers are offered for our ability to carry out this calling. Perhaps even more significantly, though, the liturgy recovers the theological normativity of baptizing adult converts to the faith.

More here-

http://livingchurch.org/covenant/2017/09/07/the-baptismal-covenant-the-norm-of-adult-baptism-and-mission/

Ecclesiometry

From The Living Church-

Innumerable printer cartridges have been used up and billions of electrons inconvenienced in the effort to explicate what is arguably a monumental shift in the relationship between Christianity and Western culture. This has been taking place over the last several decades, at least, but seems more recently to be gaining momentum at an exponential rate. The privileged position that Christianity had enjoyed, first in Europe and then in the Europe-influenced societies of the Americas, has been effectively lost in all but a few scattered pockets. The Constantinian synthesis has run its course. Quite possibly, the primary challenge facing the Church in the coming years, dwarfing all other challenges, will be how to navigate this new and unfamiliar territory, how to exist — and, indeed, thrive, one hopes — in a post-Christian environment, one without an assumed hand-in-glove relationship with secular society.

The problem is, it’s been so long since we’ve had to do this that we’ve forgotten how. There is very little by way of received wisdom or “best practices.” We can get a few ideas by examining evidentiary fragments of catechumenal praxis that might be traceable to the third century, but, in the larger context, that’s pretty meager fare. For most practical purposes, the task before us is more akin to discovering fire or inventing the wheel. That prospect is, to say the very least, daunting. It will require us to cast aside the mental maps that are so familiar and comfortable. They are obsolete, no longer corresponding accurately to the territory they purport to represent.

More here-

http://livingchurch.org/covenant/2014/10/07/ecclesiometry/

Transgender Liturgical Revision

From The Living Church-

The Church of England has published online copies of papers circulated to members of its General Synod. The papers detail discussions planned on subjects ranging from the Church’s work in areas where many people follow other faiths to concerns about the cost of applying for British citizenship and the possibility of renaming services for transgender Christians.

General Synod is scheduled to meet July 7-10 at the University of York. The first batch of papers is now available. A second circulation of papers will be published on June 23. There will also be a pre-Synod briefing at Church House Westminster on that day.

One briefing paper in the first circulation sets out how an existing Church of England service for reaffirming baptismal vows may form the liturgical basis for services that help transgender Christians mark their transition publicly.

More here-

http://livingchurch.org/2017/06/16/transgender-liturgical-revision/?platform=hootsuite

Why we baptised our baby despite almost never going to church

From New Zealand-

Are we frauds?

We want to pave as many paths to participation for our progeny as possible, so connecting her with our local parish seemed like a sensible idea. Whether she walks down it later in life will be up to her.

But we haven't been back to church since. And the aforementioned baptism was one of a very few times we've attended church on a Sunday. I don't see anything wrong with that.

But some do. Some might say we're "cop outs", "token", "lazy", or "cheats". Others - avowedly anti-religion - might question whether a baptism really was in the best interests of our baby.

More here-

http://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/parenting/baby/84792106/why-we-baptised-our-baby-despite-almost-never-going-to-church

Church in hot water over football field baptism

From Fox Georgia- (with video)

Asking a Baptist preacher to baptize is like asking Colonel Sanders if he wants a bucket of chicken. Somebody’s going to get dunked.

So when a football coach in Villa Rica, Georgia asked to be baptized on the high school football field – the local First Baptist Church obliged.

At the end of the school day somebody hauled out an old feeding trough, plopped it in the end zone near the field house and filled it with water.

A crowd of about 75 folks, black and white, young and old, gathered in the sweltering August heat to watch the coach take the Baptist plunge.

An outward symbol of being washed anew.

Perhaps inspired by their coach’s public display of his faith, some of the players also asked to be baptized. One by one the teenage boys stepped into the trough – as onlookers prayed and rejoiced and applauded.

More here-

http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2015/09/02/church-in-hot-water-over-football-field-baptism.html

Should a priest refuse to baptise the child of unwed parents?

From The Tablet-

Last week the Daily Mail reported on a vicar who has allegedly refused baptism to a child because his parents are not married. There is some confusion about the facts as the Anglican Diocese of Chester has claimed that the vicar, Revd Tim Hayes, has not in fact refused to baptise the child. The parish appears to be thriving and the policy the vicar has outlined – which is, it would seem, to ask for baptism to happen after the couple get married (which he has offered to celebrate free of charge) – has been in place for over 20 years.

All of us in ordained ministry have faced this problem. For Catholics we know that simply being unmarried would not be grounds for refusing baptism, and Pope Francis early on in his pontificate roundly condemned priests who did this; such grounds would really only be evidence that parents had no intention of bringing their child up in the Christian faith. On the other hand the Catholic Church and other Christian communities are entitled to ask parents to be properly prepared for the sacrament, and classes for this are increasingly common.

More here-

http://www.thetablet.co.uk/blogs/1/657/should-a-priest-refuse-to-baptise-the-child-of-unwed-parents-

Florida Episcopal Church Agrees to Baptize Gay Couple's Son

From Christian Times-

An Episcopal church in Florida has finally agreed to baptize the son of a gay couple after it initially refused the service due to opposition from some church members.

The baptism of baby Jack, son of Rich and Eric McCaffrey, will take place in the summer after the couple met with Episcopal Bishop Greg Brewer of the Cathedral Church of St. Luke last Thursday to thresh out the issue.

"Bishop Brewer extended an invitation to meet with us and we had the opportunity to speak with him yesterday evening. We spoke frankly and openly about the chain of events. The Bishop acknowledged he learned the Cathedral set a firm date of April 19 for the baptism, but did not support postponing the baptism," Rich posted on Facebook.

More here-

http://www.christiantimes.com/article/florida.episcopal.church.agrees.to.baptize.gay.couples.son/52550.htm

Baby With Two Dads Will Get Baptized, Bishop Says

From Central Florida-

A pair of gay Florida dads will have their son baptized this summer, following a soul-searching controversy within their Episcopal church that concluded with a meeting with — and the blessing of — their local bishop.

“We talked about my being a part of the baptism and I told them I would be happy to do so,” said the Rt. Rev. Gregory O. Brewer, head of the Episcopal Diocese of Central Florida, in a statement. “We look forward to celebrating Jack’s baptism at the Cathedral in the near future.”

More here-

https://www.yahoo.com/parenting/baby-with-two-dads-will-get-baptized-bishop-says-118708740992.html

From Central Florida-

Episcopal Bishop Greg Brewer said today that Jack, an infant whose parents are gay parishioners of Cathedral Church of St. Luke, will be baptized at the church after all.

Brewer made the decision to baptize Jack after meeting with parents Rich and Eric McCaffrey on Thursday night.

"It was a very good meeting," Brewer said.

Neither Rich nor Eric McCaffrey could be reached for comment. But Rich McCaffrey later posted a statement on his Facebook page that Brewer was supportive of Jack being baptized at the cathedral.

 More here-

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/features/religion/os-church-baptism-gay-parents-baby-20150508-story.html

Son Of Gay Dads Denied Baptism In Florida Episcopal Church

From Huffington-

Baptism is usually a time to celebrate new life and spiritual community. But for Rich McCaffrey, a new father in central Florida, the ritual took on a hurtful note when he had to cancel his son's baptism -- because McCaffrey and his husband are gay.

McCaffrey and his husband, Eric, began attending the Episcopal Cathedral Church of St. Luke in Orlando, Florida shortly after adopting their son, Jack. They hoped to become part of a spiritual community in which they could baptize their son, McCaffrey explained in a May 2 Facebook post.

The church’s dean, Anthony Clark, initially agreed to the baptism and encouraged the family to schedule it for the 6 p.m. Sunday service, “since those who worship at that time tend to be the most 'open,'" according to McCaffrey. The parents chose April 19.

Things turned sour on April 16, when, three days before the planned baptism, Clark told them that “there were members of the congregation who opposed Jack’s baptism” and the service would have to be temporarily cancelled.

 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/05/06/gay-dads-baptism_n_7223744.html

Also here-

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/breaking-news/os-orlando-episcopalian-deny-baptism-20150506-story.html

THERE IS PROBLEM IN CHRISTENDOM, FAITHFUL BEWARE – PRIMATE OKOH WARNS

From Nigeria-

The Primate of All Nigeria, Anglican Communion, the Most Revd Nicholas Okoh, weekend, warned Christian faithful to beware of false doctrine that can push them against God, noting that there is problem in Christendom.

Primate while condemning the action of the Church of England to rewrite christening rite said it is unfortunate that, the world because of knowledge are now trying to replace God with science.

The Church of England is trying out a new baptism service which drops all mention of the devil and sin from their Book of Common Prayer.

Instead of asking parents and godparents to ‘reject the devil and all rebellion against God’, it asks them to make a single broad pledge to ‘reject evil’.

Among other phrases abandoned in the experimental new christening rite are those referring to ‘the deceit and corruption of evil’, ‘the sins that separate us from God and neighbour’, and a promise to ‘fight valiantly as a disciple of Christ against sin, the world and the devil.’

More here-

http://www.codewit.com/nigeria-news/21382-there-is-problem-in-christendom-faithful-beware-primate-okoh-warns

Brentwood man, 99, baptised and confirmed

From England-

Norman Machin, of Brentwood, Essex, is a parishioner at the Anglican church St Thomas of Canterbury in the town.

Mr Machin, who believes he was not baptised as a child because of World War One, said: "I've been thinking about this for a year or two."

Father Colin Hewitt said Mr Machin was the oldest person he had seen being confirmed and added that conducting the ceremony had been "very humbling".

'Feel relieved'
He added: "It was a great joy and is very moving that a person of 99 was there in the confirmation classes and asking questions that taxed my mind."

Mr Machin said: "I've been seeing these people confirmed and baptised and I've thought in years gone by my parents did not baptise me because the war was on.

"We've had these little sessions towards confirmation. Most of it I knew.

"I feel more relieved in being confirmed."

Mr Machin's godparents are the entire congregation present at the baptism mass.

More here-

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-essex-25759217

Draft ‘baptism lite’ criticised

From The Church Times-

AN ALTERNATIVE baptism liturgy, which does not mention sin or the devil, is "baptism lite", and should be thrown out by the General Synod, the Bishop of Willesden, the Rt Revd Pete Broadbent, said this week.

The experimental texts have also been criticised on social media by other clerics, including the Bishop of Manchester, the Rt Revd David Walker, who tweeted that he "reckon[ed] these draft texts are more banal than even ASB".

The text is currently being piloted in 450 parishes. It was developed by the Liturgical Commission after the Synod approved a motion from Liverpool diocese asking for an alternative text in "accessible language" (News, 11 February 2011).

A note attached to the text, which was published on Sunday, says that "Clergy frequently find themselves conducting baptisms for families who have little contact with the Church. . . For the majority of those attending on such occasions, the existing provision can seem complex and inaccessible."

The note states that the Commission had sought to "express the primacy of God's welcoming grace, while retaining the solemnity of the promises to turn away from evil and towards Christ".

More here-

http://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2014/10-january/news/uk/draft-‘baptism-lite’-criticised

CofE removes sin and the devil from new christening rite

From The Daily Mail-

The Church of England is trying out a new baptism service which drops all mention of the devil and sin.

Instead of asking parents and godparents to ‘reject the devil and all rebellion against God’, it asks them to make a single broad pledge to ‘reject evil’.

Among other phrases abandoned in the experimental new christening rite are those referring to ‘the deceit and corruption of evil’, ‘the sins that separate us from God and neighbour’, and a promise to ‘fight valiantly as a disciple of Christ against sin, the world and the devil.’

The new service has been developed, with the approval of the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Reverend Justin Welby, to provide a baptism service in ‘culturally appropriate and accessible language’, the Church of England said yesterday.

It was prompted by complaints from a group of churches in Liverpool that the wording of the current CofE version of the service has words that ‘do not connect with too many people’.

More here-

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2534375/CofE-removes-sin-devil-new-christening-rite-Rewrite-centuries-old-passage-casts-sin-ceremonies.html

Anglican church 'dumbing down'

From New Zealand (but regarding the C of E)

A former Anglican bishop has criticised a new trial version of the Church's baptism service that no longer calls for parents and godparents to "repent sins".
Former Bishop of Rochester Michael Nazir-Ali said on Sunday, the move, which is being trialled until Easter in around 1,000 parishes, was part of a "constant dumbing down of Christian teaching".

"Instead of explaining what baptism means and what the various parts of the service signify, its solution is to do away with key elements of the service altogether," Nazir-Ali told the Mail on Sunday newspaper.

"Rather than the constant 'dumbing down' of Christian teaching, whether for baptism, marriage or death, we should be spending time preparing people for these great rites of passage.

More here-

http://news.msn.co.nz/worldnews/8779560/anglican-church-dumbing-down