Episcopal Cafe Essay

After a steady diet of General Convention on all things Episcopal/Anglican sites I have an essay published that has NOTHING to do with convention...but everything to do with the household of God. Feel free to peruse, and comment, as I share the details of my first baptism. I wrote this essay in light of my first baptism in a church setting--all my other baptisms as a priest had taken place in the hospital. So, I reflected on what was my first--and will continue to reflect on what it means for the crucifixion and baptism to be so intertwined in my theological understanding.

A baptism

A Poem For M’s Baptism Day

Her head is bundled with gauze.
Her round eyes are unblinking in her mother’s arms.

New to the world, she and her twin
(a fat and happy little creature)
Are shepherded into the light.

Her heart beats,
Her ribs contract as she breathes.
Pressed to her mother’s cheek
She is silent.

I drip sterile water into a small shell,
My hands shake.

The surgeon is silent as she sews.

The smallest of droplets upon her cheek
The Trinity…we pray,
I anoint her with oil.

Welcome to the household of God,
May light perpetual shine upon you.