Baptism is an important time in one's life. It marks a beginning. Indeed it marks the beginning of a faith journey, in which you will spend the rest of your life, discovering God's love for you and how you can live with a sense of God's love every day.

Baptism is an act that looks backward with gratitude on what God's grace has already accomplished and it looks forward to what God's grace will accomplish in the future. While baptism signifies the whole working of God's grace, the response to baptism takes place over a whole lifetime. If an act of personal Christian commitment has taken place, baptism celebrates that act and the grace of God that has already made it possible. If such an act has not yet taken place, baptism anticipates that act, declares its necessity, and celebrates God's grace that will make it possible.

Baptism anticipates a lifetime of further and deeper experiences of God, further acts of Christian commitment, and ministries in the world. Confirmation and other steps in ministry grow out of what God has done as declared and signified in baptism. You are encouraged to re-affirm your baptismal vows through out your life.

In baptism, it can be stated that there are three "participants", if you will. One of those "participants" is God. God is present in each baptism. God is making a commitment to you. God is declaring that God is tied to you, no matter what. You belong to God. Another "participant" is yourself. You are declaring in baptism (or it is being declared on your behalf) that you want to, in turn, tie yourself to God. It is a commitment you are making to lifelong growth as a follower of Jesus Christ. The third "participant" is the congregation. We are promising to be there for you. We will be here every week to hold worship services and give you opportunities for Christian growth through education and fellowship. We will be here to show you, in person, what the love of God is like. Because you belong to God, you belong ot us.

Together, we are a part of the family of God.