Cross-posted from michiganliberal.com
Tomorrow night, in an old brick church just across the street from the state Capitol building, I will stand before members of my family, friends, and the Congregation of
St. Paul's parish and enter into the Baptismal Covenant. The ritual will culminate in the following, as described in the
Book of Common Prayer of the Episcopal Church, USA:
Each candidate is presented by name to the Celebrant, or to an assisting priest or deacon, who then immerses, or pours water upon, the candidate, saying
*N*, I baptize you in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
When this action has been completed for all candidates, the Bishop or Priest, at a place in full sight of the congregation, prays over them, saying
Let us pray.
Heavenly Father, we thank you that by water and the Holy Spirit you have bestowed upon these your servants the forgiveness of sin, and have raised them to the new life of grace. Sustain them, O Lord, in your Holy Spirit. Give them an inquiring and discerning heart, the courage to will and to persevere, a spirit to know and to love you, and the gift of joy and wonder in all your works.
Amen.
Then the Bishop or Priest places a hand on the person's head, marking on the forehead the sign of the cross [using Chrism if desired] and saying to each one
*N*, you are sealed by the Holy Spirit in Baptism and marked as Christ's own for ever. Amen.
To truly and fully explain to you why I have decided to be baptized I would need far more space and time than I have available here. But let me see if I can at least give you a tell you a glimpse into one important aspect of what religion does for me.
Last fall, my house was a dirty, filthy pit. Oh sure, I would clean it every once in a while - usually when company was coming. But on the whole it was a pretty disgusting situation - fruit flies hovering around piles of dishes in the kitchen, mounds of animal hair scattered about the floor, and the bathrooms...well, we don't even want to go there. Basically, the house looked like a couple of bachelors had been living there - which was and is precisely the case (my brother also lives here). When we decided to add a third roommate - my friend Ben - we decided it was finally time to make a change in how we did things.
Building on my experience living for a year in a college co-op house, I sat down at the computer and cranked out a calendar which assured that for every day, one person would be responsible for seeing that the dishes were properly washed and put away. We divvied up the rest of the chores - mowing the grass, sweeping the floors, cleaning the bathrooms, changing the cat litter, etc. - in a way that was agreeable to all. We also agreed that if any of us failed to do what we were supposed to do, we would pay a small fine into a jar. The fines mainly served a symbolic purpose - as a reminder that we had failed to live up to the agreement we made.
"The program", as we called it, worked. Sure, there were some slip-ups - and there is a decent chuck of change that has accumulated in the jar. However, on the whole, the house is much cleaner, much more comfortable, and much more enjoyable to be in. Without a doubt, "the program" helped make life better for everyone. Ben has since moved on, but my brother and I have stuck with it to this day.
Our cleaning "program" is a wonderful metaphor for the role religion plays in my life. On its most basic level, religion forces me to - once a week - stop whatever it is I'm doing, thinking, or worrying about and go get my head in order. Each Sunday, I walk down to a calm, peaceful place, where time slows down to a more natural pace. I see and talk to some nice folks, sing, meditate, and just renew my spirit - while getting away from televisions, computers, advertising, and all of the many distractions of modern life.
During the week, there is always more to do with the website, some email I need to answer, some financial paperwork that needs to be taken care of, some article that people need to hear about.... The work never ends. And just as even the strongest athlete needs some time to rest, or a field needs to be left fallow sometimes, I need time to rejuvenate my mind and spirit. Of course, there is more to faith than simply attending a house of worship once a week - faith is something one works on (or should work on) all the time. But for me, this is one of the biggest, and most profoundly useful benefits of my faith.
I was drawn to St. Paul's about five months ago, after attending a friend's funeral there. I liked the beauty and mystique of the ancient rituals, the liturgy, the music, and the sense of warmth that I found there. I did go to a few different churches as I was growing up, but we never really belonged to any church. But I come from a Christian background, so I'm comfortable with Jesus - though I have certainly had my quarrels regarding the various interpretations of his message that exist within Christianity.
In the Episcopal Church, you have to be baptized to take communion and communion is, of course, the principal sacrament of the Church. I was never baptized, so up until now, I just sat in the back and observed while the rest of the people went up to the altar for their wine and wafer.
Well, after five months at St. Paul's - and 30 years of my own spiritual wandering - I've decided I'm no longer content to just sit in the back. I want to do more than just observe. I want to participate. So tomorrow, I'll make it official and become a full-fledged member of the St. Paul's community.
Sure, I'll have my disagreements, doubts, and endless questions about the true meaning of the scriptures - and I'm sure all kinds of other issues. But from now on, I'll have them as a participant - as a member of the flock, rather than someone who just sits in the back and observes.
To my friends who are non-believers, agnostic, or who practice different faiths (which I'm guessing on this website is just about everybody): you have no need to fear. I'm not going to come to your house with religious pamphlets, beat you with a bible, or start compulsively citing scripture in my political writings. I'm only mentioning any of this now because getting baptized is a pretty significant occasion in my life and I thought it might interest someone (in the Episcopal Church, you only get baptized ONCE). But at the end of the day, this about MY faith - which works for ME. Everyone has their own path to follow, and that's perfectly fine with me. I can see great beauty in the different ways people approach (or don't approach) their faith. It's one of the things that makes life so rich.
I will say that as I was searching for a spiritual direction, the Christians who had the deepest impact on my understanding of faith were not the pamphleteers, preachers of fire and damnation, and those with "John 3:16" signs in the end zone. If anything, these kinds of tactics pushed me further away from Christ. Far more persuasive were the Christians I knew - or was aware of - who focused more on leading others by
their own example than by mere words. I only hope I can do the same as I work to fulfill
my promise to "strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being."
"The opposite of faith isn't doubt: it is certainty"
-Anne Lamott, author
(BTW, anyone who is interested or curious is invited to observe and/or participate in our baptismal rite tomorrow, which occurs as part of the Easter Vigil service. St. Paul's is located at 218 W. Ottawa (across from the Capitol) & the service begins at 7pm).
A few famous Episcopalians/Anglicans (for all or part of their lives):
Sir Issac Newton, Charles Darwin, T.S. Eliot, C.S. Lewis, Franklin D. Roosevelt, George H.W. Bush, Gerald Ford, Diane Rehm, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Michigan Lt. Governor John Cherry, and Governors Murray Van Wagoner and G. Mennen "Soapy" Williams (both Van Wagoner and Williams were members of St. Paul's parish!)
More about the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion:
Episcopal Church USA
The Episcopal Book of Common Prayer
The Episcopal Church of the US(Wikipedia)
St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Lansing
Fr. Jake Stops the World (a blog run by a self-described "eclectic and sometimes eccentric" Episcopal priest.
Some recent news items involving the Episcopal Church, politically-liberal Christians, and Christianity in America:
The Religious Left: It is fruitful and has multiplied - Slate - 4/5/06
Episcopalians join nationwide rallies for comprehensive immigration reform - Episcopal News Service - 4/11/06
'St. Jack' and the Bullies in the Pulpit - Washington Post - 2/2/06
Episcopal panel seeks slowdown on new gay leaders - San Francisco Chronicle - 4/4/06
Rite of baptism trickles away - USA Today - 4/12/06