Copyright © 2025 Women of the ELCA. Reprint permission is granted for use in Women of the ELCA units, clusters/conferences and synodical women’s organizations provided each post is reproduced in its entirety. If you enjoy this resource, Donate Now.
My favorite part of baptism is when the pastor presents our sibling to us. In my head, I say silently, “This is your new sibling in Christ.” It is a thought that is sobering and awe-inspiring, and a little at odds with the applause, the oohs and ahhs and smiles as the pastor parades an infant (or any newly baptized one) around for us all to see. One memorable “baptism parade” of a 5-year-old and his 3-year-old sister started out shy and ended with them not wanting to sit down after receiving so much affirmation and applause.
Theologians (like me) try to think up big words and bigger theories that explain the body of Christ and the mission we share. But I think what’s more central is the excitement, the feeling in one’s heart and gut of belonging, of being divinely claimed in the midst of a loving community.
Every baptism is an affirmation of your baptism. Let the joy of the baptism parade be a memory of those who warmly welcomed you to your place, this place, in the body of Christ and in the mission of loving service that we share with Christ and each other.
This message is excerpted from “Divinely claimed” by Denise Rector in the September/October 2021 Gather magazine. Today we celebrate the Baptism of our Lord.