Another of our goals for this year is Connection. 

As we prepare for a baptism next week (God willing), I have been reflecting on connection and that wonderful, watery sacrament. 

In the Book of Alternative Services (our green prayer book) it says on page 146,  

“Baptism is the sign of new life in Christ. Baptism unites Christ with his people. That union is both individual and corporate. Christians are, it is true, baptized one by one, but to be a Christian is to be part of a new creation which rises from the dark waters of Christ’s death into the dawn of his risen life. Christians are not just baptized individuals; they are a new humanity.” 

I miss you. Yes, you. Whether we have seen each other often in the past months, or have talked on the phone once or twice, or especially if we have not seen each other or spoken at all. I miss you, and it hurts my heart sometimes. How is your heart feeling?

This week I have found balm for my soul in these words from the BAS, ‘baptism unites Christ with his people [and] that union is both individual and corporate.’ Though we are distant, though we may feel disconnected, there is an unbreakable bond between us. We are connected through the waters of baptism, that mystical union, which is the Church. So, when I have been feeling isolated, I remember this, that my heart is linked with Christ, and through Christ to you; I remember, and I feel a little less alone. 

However, we need outward and visible signs to accompany this inward and spiritual grace. 

So, we will phone, and email, and Zoom, and text; we will gather with safety protocols; we will struggle with technology, sometimes winning, and sometimes losing; we will run into each other by accident at the grocery store and wave, smiling behind our masks; we will play and work; we will rejoice and grieve; we will pray.

We will need your help, dear friends, to achieve this goal of connection. We will need your help to reach out to one other, to show how our hearts are connected to and through Christ.  

Together I believe that we can.

Thanks be to God!

 

CG+