Teach your children well…

“Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds: tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road and when you lie down and when you get up.” 

Deuteronomy 11:18-19

 Dear friends,

As I reflected on part of the Old Testament reading for this coming Sunday’s service that includes a baptism, I was reminded of that Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young ballad from the 70’s …” teach your children well”.

You, who are on the road

Must have a code you try to live by

And so, become yourself

Because the past is just a goodbye

I think baptism is a code we should all try to live by. Remembering that our baptism is not something we could ever hope to ‘earn’, it is a gift from God.

In our reformed tradition we talk about faith being a life- long experience that begins with our baptism. One of the joys of being in a church with a long history is to see how over the years, our congregation has indeed ‘taught their children well.”  I always remind the folks in the pews to take seriously the promises we make to ‘nurture the baptized child in the faith’.

When so many individuals and families today are trying to find a place where they ‘belong’, here at New Wappetaw we have an opportunity to be the welcoming community they have been searching for. You all do that well, and maybe that is why we are seeing new faces in the pews.

So, this week as you remember your own baptism, offer a prayer of thanksgiving for the upcoming baptisms we will witness in this new year.

Stay warm.

Blessings

Mike