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The
Sacrament of Baptism |
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The Baptism of Jesus
At this time, Jesus came from
Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John
in the Jordan. The moment he came out of the
water, he saw the sky split open and God's
Spirit, looking like a dove, come down on
him. Along with the Spirit, a voice: "You
are my Son, chosen and marked by my love,
pride of my life."
Mark 1:9-11 (The Message)
The art on the right is
by He Qi and is entitled “The Baptism
of Jesus". You can see more of his
work at
http://www.heqiarts.com/ |
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The World Council of Churches says: “Baptism is related
not only to momentary experience, but to life-long
growth into Christ. Those baptized are called upon to
reflect the glory of the Lord as they are transformed by
the power of the Holy Spirit, into his likeness, with
ever increasing splendour (II Cor. 3:18). The life of
the Christian is necessarily one of continuing struggle
yet also of continuing experience of grace. In this new
relationship, the baptized live for the sake of Christ,
of his Church and of the world which he loves, while
they wait in hope for the manifestation of God's new
creation and for the time when God will be all in all
(Rom. 8:18-24; 1 Cor. 15:22-28, 49-57).” |
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In
the Anglican context Baptism is the rite of passage that
brings people into the church. This often takes place in
infancy but is often an adult rite of passage as well.
When a person is baptised, he or she is baptised into
the entire Christian community and are linked to
brothers and sisters in Christ for centuries who have
gone before, and to brothers and sisters all over the
world of many traditions today. |
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At St. Mark’s by-the-Lake we have baptisms scheduled for
all major feast days as well as at other times by
pastoral need. The major feast days include The Baptism
of Jesus, The Great Easter Vigil, Pentecost, All Saints
and Christmas. Obviously in a parish like St. Mark’s
where we have a lot of young families there is a larger
need for baptism and we can no longer fill that need o
the big feast days alone. We will not schedule more than
three baptisms for one service. Baptisms usually take
place during the 10:30 AM Mass but can be arranged for
the 8 AM Mass in special circumstances. |
| We are
excited that you are considering baptism for your child
or yourself. We hope to play a large part in
helping you begin that Christian journey. If you have
more questions please do not hesitate to contact the
church office by telephone or email. The next
baptism is scheduled for January 7, 2007. |
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