During the past few weeks I’ve been spending extra time with our Baptismal Covenant—in Youth and Adult Confirmation Groups, preparing families for the celebration of two baptisms (1:00 service on All Saints), and finalizing liturgies for Bishop Akiyama’s visitation to St. Michael’s (Sunday!).
As we all rode the roller coaster of the recent political campaign season, and now with so much to process in the election results, the return to these promises grounds me in the midst of the tumult and tempest.
Last Wednesday, on the day after the election, a small group of friends gathered in the morning to process what had transpired the night before. A range of emotions were expressed, as folks considered emerging strains in family relationships, risks to particularly vulnerable siblings in the parish community, and uncertainty about the impact to personal security, finances, and freedoms. In the midst of our “holding space” for one another, we were challenged by faithful voices to recall and re-center the values and truth at the heart of our faith in community.
Our promises at baptism are the very heart of our “why” as people who seek to follow Jesus of Nazareth. These questions and responses are vital expressions of faith, conviction, and purpose. They invite us to remind one another of our overarching story of love, grace and hope expressed through creation, incarnation, death and resurrection; and to recommit to gathering—often—for teaching, fellowship, Eucharist, and prayer; and to persist in resisting the evil that afflicts us and the world; and to proclaim and enact the change God inspires us to dream for the world; and to live lives of love for neighbor and self; and to honor the divine spark in every person we encounter, always mindful of the inherent dignity to resides in every single human being.
When we renew our Baptismal Covenant, we say out loud why we are here and why we keep going together. We promise faith and action, purpose and promise, hope and persistence. And we say it out loud to encourage one another to stay at it.
In all of these convictions, in all of these commitments, if we say “yes,” we say it with humility and integrity and faith: “I will, with God’s help.” With God’s help and going together, we put one foot in front of the other, take one step at a time, start again when set back, and refuse to give up. All for the sake of God’s good having the last word in the world.
So grateful to be with you in promise, purpose, and process.
Scott+
The Rev. R. Scott Painter, Rector
Email: ScottP@stmaa.org
