Baptism+Godparent Preparation

ST.PAUL’SEPISCOPALCHURCH reissued FALL 2016 (30 Oct 2013)

Church SCATTERED

WELCOME TO ST. PAUL’S: BAPTISM the rite of Christian Initiation 1300 N. 18th Street • Kansas City, KS 66102 • T 913.321.3535 main • T 913.321.8674 pantry • www.stpaulskck.org Godparent Preparation

When a person is baptized, they become part of the Body of Christ, a larger family than the one that gave them birth. It is very important, therefore, that a person have sponsors, or godparents, “spirit guides,” who are members of the family of faith but beyond their immediate family, to walk with them on the baptismal journey every more deeply into Christ. If possible, it is a valuable communion for godparents to be in community one with another for the sake of the baptizand. Sharing their own journeys not only supports the godparents, but enables a deeper collegiality in caring for the baptized one. SHARING 1. What is the story of your Baptism? Do you remember? Who was there? Where?

2. Who have been your life mentors, “spirit guides” who loved your soul?

3. What might you have wished for in a mentor or sponsor that did not happen for you?

4. What are your hopes for your spiritual care and nurture for your baptized person?

5. How do you imagine sharing in his/her life?

BASIC IDEAS FOR GODPARENTING 1. Sustaining a relationship with your godchild and his/her parents and (/or) family.

2. Remembering birthdays and holy days.

3. If you live out of town, seeing the person at least once a year if at all possible.

4. Remembering the baptism anniversary.

5. Cultivating an ability to listen and to share your own story, and making connections between godchildren’s stories and The Gospel Story.

6. Write letters, sharing your faith, oﬀering encouragement, proclaiming your trust in God’s love and presence and guidance of your godchild.

7. Interpreting for one another and the godchild what diﬀerence being baptized makes in a person’s life, and regularly making connections between daily life and life through Christ in the Spirit.

NOTE: See also: Taking the Plunge: Baptism and Parenting by Anne E. Kitch.

1 Baptism Meaning (Theology) of Baptism: According to the ecumenical consensus, expressed in the World Council of Churches Baptism, Eucharist, Ministry document (1982),1 baptism means at least these five things: 1. Participation in Christ’s Death and Resurrection (Romans 6:3-11) 2. Conversion, Pardoning, Cleansing (dying to sin, justification . 1 Peter; Hebrews; John) 3. Gift of the Spirit 4. Incorporation into the Body of Christ (1 Cor); Adoption as God’s children (Gal 4; Eph 1) 5. Sign of the Kingdom of God and the life of the world to come (John 3.5) ALSO: 6. Call to live out God’s justice in the world. Call to live out our baptism through action. 7. New Birth. Sanctification or regeneration. Waters of rebirth | renewal (Titus 3.5) Practical Understanding of Baptism: For most of the history of Christianity (1500 years), we have lived in “Christendom,” a marriage of Christian church and state and culture. The art forms, symbols, holy days, ethics, and basic structures of Christianity have formed and informed society.

Therefore, infant baptism has regularly been (unconsciously) understood as becoming a normative citizen, being legitimized, being counted among the oﬃcial members of church and society. When the child comes of age, then, able to choose for him/herself, the child was conﬁrmed. Then they were able to take communion, and have a ministry. It wasn’t, however, until a person was ordained that they were often said to “join the church.”

The churches’ failure in World War II has impelled a new theology of baptism.

In World War II, the churches failed. It became clear that the competitive emphasis on distinguishing Baptists from Methodists and Lutherans from Roman Catholics was irrelevant in the face of the failed witness during the Nazi time of trial. The World Council of Churches was formed after the war (1948) to invite all Christian churches to turn instead toward visible unity, so that the Gospel might be proclaimed and spread to a starving world. One Church might have hope of proclaiming One Lord, One Faith, and One Baptism.

Further, in Germany it had become clear how easy it was to preach “the Gospel” from the Bible without ever challenging the government or social situation, and also how easy it was to remove an outspoken clergy-person from a church, leaving the people to fend for themselves. 2 In other words, it became clear that what really mattered was how vibrant the lay people were in their faith, and how they lived it in the marketplace, in the government, at home, in their jobs. The question of what it means to be baptized became a critical question.

Theologians then looked to the early Church, that time when Christians were in the minority and persecuted, but faithful witnesses (Gk: martyr) even unto death, to see what baptism meant then.

Conversionary Process in the Early Church

In the ﬁrst three centuries, if a person became interested and began to ask questions about the faith (inquiring), they were invited not to baptism but to a process of learning about and growing into faith in God through Christ by the Spirit. Before being baptized, persons spent three to ﬁve years preparing: that is, they changed their lives. They learned and began to practice Christian behaviors, including ethics (simplicity, freedom from addiction to power, sex, money, cursing), hospitality, worship, praise, and inner dispositions (e.g., gratitude, hope, trust, peace, joy). They cultivated a new sense of belonging, such that the Christian community became their primary source of identity (not, for example, their Roman citizenship). And they learned Christian belief (learning the words and actions of Jesus and controlling metaphors of the faith, such as turning swords into plowshares). Of the three, belief was the least important in the early church, for to be baptized was to join the community living in covenant with God through their union with Christ, the great high priest. To be baptized was to become part of the priestly people of God (I Peter 2:9-10).2 Understanding was good; but the way of life was most important.

So before they began their preparation, being attracted by the Christians and desiring to learn more, they participated in the:

Rite of Admission into the Order of Catechumens.

Then the 3-5 years of Christian acquaintance began, called the CATECHUMENATE.

Those preparing were called catechumens.

Their lives began to change, and they met regularly with the bishop (or other catechist) and kept each other in prayer. Sometimes they changed jobs, or let go of unhealthy friendships; often they changed their attitudes and daily patterns; always their prayer lives deepened, as did their relationships with other Christians. When they were ready, they were invited to put their names in 6 to 8 weeks before Easter, since baptism occurred on Easter (sign of its meaning as participation in Christ’s death and resurrection).

3 Then they went through the: Rite of Enrollment.

This was a commitment to complete the preparation and to be baptized on Easter. This was a 6-8 week period, later called LENT. After this rite, those preparing were no longer called catechuments, but candidates. Rite of Baptism which included not only the washing (“baptism”), but anointing with oil, two or three times, with laying on of hands by the bishop; ﬁrst participation in the prayers of the people; and ﬁrst Communion. The period following baptism was called MYSTAGOGY, when the now neophytes learned more about what had sacramentally occurred for them, and to begin their new mentored ministries and take their places among the ecclesia.

ONGOING POST-BAPTISMAL CONVERSION In the current era, North America is moving away from Christendom. Christians are again in the minority in many places, and are again persecuted (e.g., it is illegal to be Christian in Pakistan). It is no longer possible to learn the Christian faith via a McGuﬀey Reader in public education, be taught Christian behavior by the whole town, and to learn about your church’s beliefs in 45-minutes a week of Sunday school. The culture no longer supports basic education in a Christian way of life. Much more intentionality is now (again) needed, and by a community of people.

The role of parents, grandparents, and godparents in the Christian formation of a person, before and after baptism, is critical and cannot be understated.

According to Tad Guzie, “the rhythm that makes life human” is lived experience, story & festivity: that is, reﬂecting upon life’s experiences, as they engage with The Story of one’s people, and then celebrating these meanings regularly. 3 While a 21st century life might not have the three rites of the early church, nonetheless, rites and celebrations (and laments) are needed periodically. Godparents, parents, grandparents, and clergy may be the best ones to notice when some kind of ritual or festivity is needed, and to create one which will capture a signiﬁcant experience and interpret it in community towards life-giving redemption.4

COMMITMENTS 1. How will you become godsibs, a mini-community of faith among yourselves?

2. How do you imagine speciﬁcally showing God’s love to your baptizand, to establish a trusting relationship, to be there, to help him/her see Christ’s love for self and others, and to imagine ways to live as Christ in the world? How will you teach him/her to pray, to recognize the Spirit?

4 RAISING A CHILD(REN) + MEANING OF BAPTISM FOR FAMILY TODAY

1. Choice to live the Christian life, to obey Christ, to turn to scripture, the wisdom of the Church and the experience of the Christian community for guidance in bringing up our children as loving adults & loving Christians.

2. Choice to be part of extended family--parents, godparents, members of the congregation all witness to vows and make promises to support persons in their lives of faith.

3. Guidelines for how to live life--called to be Christ’s ambassadors in the world:

✤ continuing in the apostles teaching & fellowship in the breaking of bread & in the prayers ✤ persevere & resist evil and repent & return to God ✤ proclaim by word & example the gospel of God in Christ. ✤ seek & serve Christ in all persons, loving neighbor as self. ✤ strive for justice & peace among all people, respect the dignity of every human being.

** LOVE GOD, LOVE NEIGHBOR

5 Baptism

I. THE INSTITUTION OF BAPTISM

Christian baptism is rooted in the ministry of Jesus of Nazareth, in his death and in his resurrection. It is in corporation into Christ, who is the crucified and risen Lord; it is entry into the New Covenant between God and God's people. Baptism is a gift of God, and is administered in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. St. Matthew records that the risen Lord, when sending his disciples into the world, commanded them to baptize (Matt. 28:18-20). The universal practice of baptism by the apostolic Church from its earliest days is attested in letters of the New Testament, the Acts of the Apostles, and the writings of the Fathers. The churches today continue this practice as a rite of commitment to the Lord who bestows his grace upon his people.

II. THE MEANING OF BAPTISM

Baptism is the sign of new life through Jesus Christ. It unites the one baptized with Christ and with his people. The New Testament scriptures and the liturgy of the Church unfold the meaning of baptism in various images which express the riches of Christ and the gifts of his salvation. These images are sometimes linked with the symbolic uses of water in the Old Testament. Baptism is participation in Christ's death and resurrection (Rom. 6:3-5; Col. 2:12); a washing away of sin (I Cor. 6:11); a new birth (John 3:5); an enlightenment by Christ (Eph. 5:14); a re-clothing in Christ (Gal. 3:27); a renewal by the Spirit (Titus 3:5); the experience of salvation from the flood (I Peter 3:20-21); an exodus from bondage (I Cor. 10:1-2) and a liberation into a new humanity in which barriers of division whether of sex or race or social status are transcended (Gal. 3:27-28; I Cor. 12:13). The images are many but the reality is one.

A. Participation in Christ's Death and Resurrection

Baptism means participating in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Jesus went down into the river Jordan and was baptized in solidarity with sinners in order to fulfill all righteousness (Matt. 3:15). This baptism led Jesus along the way of the Suffering Servant, made manifest in his sufferings, death and resurrection (Mark 10:38-40, 45). By baptism, Christians are immersed in the liberating death of Christ where their sins are buried, where the “old Adam” is crucified with Christ, and where the power of sin is broken. Thus those baptized are no longer slaves to sin, but free. Fully identified with the death of Christ, they are buried with him and are raised here and now to a new life in the power of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, conﬁdent that they will also ultimately be one with him in a resurrection like his (Rom. 6:3-11; Col. 2:13,3:1; Eph. 2:5-6).

6 B. Conversion, Pardoning and Cleansing The baptism which makes Christians partakers of the mystery of Christ's death and resurrection implies confession of sin and conversion of heart. The baptism administered by John was itself a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins (Mark 1:4). The New Testament underlines the ethical implications of baptism by representing it as an ablution which washes the body with pure water, a cleansing of the heart of all sin, and an act of justification (Heb. 10:22; I Peter3:21; Acts 22:16; I Cor. 6:11). Thus those baptized are pardoned, cleansed and sanctified by Christ, and are given as part of their baptismal experience a new ethical orientation under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

C. The Gift of the Spirit The Holy Spirit is at work in the lives of people before, in and after their baptism. It is the same Spirit who revealed Jesus as the Son (Mark 1:10-11) and who empowered and united the disciples at Pentecost (Acts 2). God bestows upon all baptized persons the anointing and the promise of the Holy Spirit, marks them with a seal and implants in their hearts the first installment of their inheritance as sons and daughters of God. The Holy Spirit nurtures the life of faith in their hearts until the ﬁnal deliverance when they will enter into its full possession, to the praise of the glory of God (2 Cor. 1:21—22; Eph. 1:13-14).

D. Incorporation into the Body of Christ Administered in obedience to our Lord, baptism is a sign and seal of our common discipleship. Through baptism, Christians are brought into union with Christ, with each other and with the Church of every time and place. Our common baptism, which unites us to Christ in faith, is thus a basic bond of unity. We are one people and are called to confess and serve one Lord in each place and in all the world. The union with Christ which we share through baptism has important implications for Christian unity. “There is... one baptism, one God and Father of us all ...” (Eph. 4:4—6). When baptismal unity is realized in one holy, catholic, apostolic Church, a genuine Christian witness can be made to the healing and reconciling love of God. Therefore, our one baptism into Christ constitutes a call to the churches to overcome their divisions and visibly manifest their fellowship.

COMMENTARY (6) The inability of the churches mutually to recognize their various practices of baptism as sharing in the one baptism, and their actual dividedness in spite of mutual baptismal recognition, have given dramatic visibility to the broken witness of the Church. The readiness of the churches in some places and times to allow diﬀerences of sex, race, or social status to divide the body of Christ has further called into question genuine baptismal unity of the Christian community (Gal. 3:27—28) and has seriously compromised its witness. The need to recover baptismal unity is at the heart of the ecumenical task as it is central for the realization of genuine partnership within the Christian communities.

7 E. The Sign of the Kingdom Baptism initiates the reality of the new life given in the midst of the present world. It gives participation in the community of the Holy Spirit. It is a sign of the Kingdom of God and of the life of the world to come. Through the gifts of faith, hope and love, baptism has a dynamic which embraces the whole of life, extends to all nations, and anticipates the day when every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.

III. BAPTISM AND FAITH Baptism is both God's gift and our human response to that gift. It looks towards a growth into the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ (Eph. 4:13). The necessity of faith for the reception of the salvation embodied and set forth in baptism is acknowledged by all churches. Personal commitment is necessary for responsible membership in the body of Christ. Baptism is related not only to momentary experience, but to life-long growth into Christ. Those baptized are called upon to reflect the glory of the Lord as they are transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit, into his likeness, with ever increasing splendour (2 Cor. 3:18). The life of the Christian is necessarily one of continuing struggle yet also of continuing experience of grace. In this new relationship, the baptized live for the sake of Christ, of his Church and of the world which he loves, while they wait in hope for the manifestation of God's new creation and for the time when God will be all in all (Rom. 8:18-24; I Cor. 15:22-28, 49-57).

End Notes 1 Baptism, Eucharist, Ministry, Faith and Order Paper #111 (Geneva: World Council of Churches, 1982). For an online version of the Baptism section, see: http://www.oikoumene.org/en/resources/documents/commissions/ faith-and-order/i-unity-the-church-and-its-mission/baptism-eucharist-and-ministry-faith-and-order-paper- no-111-the-lima-text

2 See Alan Kreider, The Change in Conversion and the Origin of Christendom (Harrisburg: Trinity, 1999).

3 See Tad Guzie, The Book of Sacramental Basics (NY: Paulist, 1981). Guzie distinguishes “lived experience” (meaningful, reﬂected-upon) from “raw experience” which can be rote or routine. Weekly eucharist is part of festivity.

4 For more on this, see Susan Marie Smith, Christian Ritualizing and the Baptismal Process (Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock, 2011).

5 Baptism, Eucharist, Ministry, Faith and Order Paper #111 (Geneva: World Council of Churches, 1982), “Baptism.”

8 Self Assessment Chart

! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

! ! ! Belief!in!Christ! !!!!!!!!!! ! ! Attend!Church!

! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

! Daily!Prayer! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Read!Bible! ! !

Activity!in!Christian! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Activity!in!Community! ! Community! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Service!

! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

! ! ! ! Language! ! ! !!!!!!Family!Activity!

! ! ! (Swear!/crude!–!!Clean)!! ! !

Using!a!scale!of!1!E10!(10!being!high)!rank!yourself!in!each!area!by!drawing!a!line!across! the!pie!shaped!area.!A!5!would!be!right!in!the!middle.!A!9!would!be!close!to!the!outer! ring.!A!2!!would!be!close!to!the!inner!ring.!

Prepared by (the Rev.) Susan Marie Smith, Ph.D. [email protected] and Mother Dixie Roberts Junk [email protected]

9 Notes: St.PAUL’S Episcopal Church feeding body and mind, & hearts and souls since 1857

! all roads lead to St. Paul’s . . .the home of the grinning gargoyle

a National Jubilee Ministry Center of the Episcopal Church

1300 N. 18th Street • Kansas City, KS 66102 • T 913.321.3535 main • T 913.321.8674 pantry • www.stpaulskck.org