I have done my share of child dedications, both as part of the Sunday service and as private ceremonies. Some have been in UU Christian congregations, some have been in pluralistic congregations. I have baptized an adult Unitarian Universalist who had become a Christian.
But this was a first for me, the baptism of a child. It was last night, Christmas eve, after the candlelight service. I celebrated this baptism at the request of Unitarian Universalist Christian parents, one who had been brought up Unitarian Universalist, and the other who had been brought up Roman Catholic and whose understanding of baptism was influenced by that Catholicism. Their daughter was two months old.
So what follows is Christian baptism as understood by this Unitarian Universalist of Christian humanist leanings.
Sermons Preached: December 2005 Archives
Every religious communities has its high holidays,
those special days when the institution is busiest,
when the faithful are most involved in community rituals,
when the children are most excited.
You have probably heard the line from that old spiritual; it goes like this: Joshua fit the battle of Jericho €¦ and the walls come tumblin' down. In the Biblical book of Joshua, we have the story of conquest by the Hebrew tribes of the land of promise. Cana, the fortress city of Jericho was being attacked. We read: On the seventh day, they rose early, at dawn and marched around the city in the same manner seven times. It was only on that day they marched around the city seven times. And at the seventh time, when the priests had blown the trumpets, Joshua said to the people Shout! For the Lord has given you the city!"
A little later, the text reads: As soon as the people heard the sound of the trumpets, they raised a great shout, and the wall fell down flat and the people charged straight ahead into the city and captured it. Then they devoted to destruction by the edge of the sword all in the city, both men and women, young and old, oxen, sheep and donkeys.
