Neil and Harry, Hmmmm. That is how I am coming to think about it too. But if there is some perhaps psychological need here should we not address that? I mean we have it would appear the need to have celebrations and so we use Easter and Christmas both to celebrate and remember some very important events. God bless, Jeff >-----Original Message----- >From: Neil Whitcombe [mailto:Neil.Whitcombe@...] >Sent: Tuesday, 6 April 2004 3:56 AM >To: soundofgrace@... >Subject: RE: [soundofgrace] On Presentations of Infants and Baptisms > >Hi Jeff > >It seems that this sell out of paedo-baptistic practice is strong here in >the UK too. I recently declined to attend a meeting at the fellowship I >attend over this issue. > >Neil > >-----Original Message----- >From: Jeff Scanlan [mailto:jscanlan@...] >Sent: 04 April 2004 22:01 >To: soundofgrace@... >Subject: [soundofgrace] On Presentations of Infants and Baptisms > >It has been a little quiet lately so I am going to pose a question here >in relation to the above. > >In my country after the second world war it became the practice in >Baptist Churches to dedicate infants. As I recall it, it was initially >low-key. Baptisms were similarly always low-key. > >However it seems to be that lately such events are becoming occasions >for family celebrations and are even appearing as performance. > >Presentations of infants are now really not much more than christenings >without water. My own sister and brother-in-law refused to have their >children presented in church because my brother-in-law believed that his >non-Christian family would just see it as a christening. > >And yesterday at our church there was such an event with family, >non-Christian and Christian, gathered specially for that event. I have >even heard that there are private dedications, which to me is the >antithesis of what a presentation should be because surely it is meant >to me something of a covenant between the church congregation and the >parents. > >As for baptisms it seems that for them too the family has all to >congregate in the church and it seems that we have to applaud the >spectacle after the event. At my last church there was once even a >celebratory baptismal cake! > >Any thoughts on this will be gratefully received. > >God bless, >Jeff > >-- >Read the Sound of Grace pages at >http://www.soundofgrace.com > >To unsubscribe, send ANY message to: soundofgrace-unsubscribe@... > >To view our online archive go to our web page at >http://www.associate.com/groups/soundofgrace > >-- >Read the Sound of Grace pages at >http://www.soundofgrace.com > >To unsubscribe, send ANY message to: soundofgrace-unsubscribe@... > >To view our online archive go to our web page at >http://www.associate.com/groups/soundofgrace >