Baptism of Alan November 6, 2022
Welcome
Welcome, my name is Ann Harrington and I am the pastor and founding priest of Free Spirit Inclusive Catholic Community in Greenville, NC. It is a great honor and privilege to be here with you today. Alan, thank you for affirming my priesthood. Beth thank you for opening your sacred space to us. And thank all of you for being here today.
I’d like to start with a joke to set the mood.
The Pope dies and, naturally, goes to heaven. He's met by the reception committee and, after a whirlwind tour is told that he can enjoy any of the myriad recreations available.
He decides that he wants to read all of the ancient original text of the Holy Scriptures, and spends the next eon or so learning the languages. After becoming a linguistics master, he sits down in the library and begins to pore over every version of the Bible, working back from the most recent "Easy Reading" to the original script.
All of a sudden there is a scream in the library. The angels come running to him, only to find the Pope huddled in a chair, crying to himself, and muttering, "An 'R'! They left out the 'R'”.
God takes him aside, offering comfort and asks him what the problem is. After collecting his wits, the Pope sobs again, "It's the letter 'R'... the word was supposed to be CELEBRATE."
What we are about to do is have a celebration in God’s great outdoor cathedral. In the gospels, Jesus most frequently compares the reign of God to a feast. The Catholic calendar is full of feast days, the most recent being the beautiful feasts of All Saints and All Souls. Surely there are many of our beloved departed here with us today.
Opening Song: Let Go of the Shore by Karen Drucker (fade at 3:10)
Let go of the shore,
and let the water carry you.
Let go of the shore,
float into the mystery… (Repeat)
You have all you need,
it’s all inside of you.
Close your eyes and breathe,
and know that you are safe.
No need to make a plan,
your heart will be your compass.
Just lift your sails in faith,
and trust that you will arrive.
Presider: All Merciful God, you love us with a mother’s tender care and a father’s life-giving warmth. We know you are with us. We marvel at the wonders of creation. This holy water is just one of your many gifts to us. Your Spirit, “in the beginning of the universe, hovered over the surface of the waters” so that its very substance would take on the power to sanctify. Through water, you set your people free from bondage and quenched their thirst in the desert. With water, your prophets announced a new covenant that you would make with humanity. You touched Jesus in the waters of the Jordan. May this water remind us of all your promises and of our covenant with all of creation. ALL: Amen
READINGS
Genesis 1:2 The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.
Ezekiel 36:25-26 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.
Psalm: My Soul is Thirsting by Steve Angrisano
My soul is thirsting for you O Lord, thirsting for you my God, my soul is thirsting for you O Lord, thirsting for you my God, thirsting for you, my God.
Ann will intone Alleluia
Gospel John 4:10-15
Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water. “Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his livestock?” Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.” This is the good news of Jesus the Christ! ALL: Thanks be to God!!!
Homily
Baptismal Promises
Presider: Do you promise to learn more about Christ and nurture a desire to grow in love and knowledge of Jesus?
Candidate: I promise
P: Do you promise to see what is good for your sisters and brothers everywhere, rejecting injustice and inequality and living with the freedom and responsibility of children of God?
C: I promise.
P. Do you promise to work for the realization of God’s vision of harmony and right relations among people and, rejecting the idols of money and property and color and sex and position?
C: I promise
P. Do you promise to seek peace and live in peace in one human family, rejecting prejudice and half-heartedness in every form, and all barriers to unity?
C: I promise
P. Do you promise to cherish the universe, and this precious planet, working creatively to renew and safeguard the elemental sacraments of air, earth, water?
C: I promise
Statement of Beliefs
P. Alan, do you believe in God, the Creator of All That Is? C: I believe!
Alan, do you believe in God’s son Jesus, the humble servant of justice and love who lived among us so that we all might have fullness of life now and for all eternity? C: I believe!
Alan, do you believe in the Holy Spirit, the breath of God, the Spirit who guides and inspires us to do God’s work of forgiveness and reconciliation, birthing and blessing, challenging and hoping, so that together we can continue the mission of Jesus? C: I believe!
Water Rite
Presider: (prays the following while administering the sacrament)
Alan, may you live as a child of God and may your name be a blessing wherever you go! 3X
All: Gospel Amen (sing)
Closing Song
Distribute instruments
Forever Young
Rod Stewart version
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