Dear Church:
Do you remember your baptism? Sacraments are meant to be remembered because sacraments are rituals in which we encounter the Holy One. To engage in it and forget it is to miss the real depth of what has happened.
In our Book of Worship, we are taught so much about Baptism and its meaning. I thought that you might enjoy reading the words that were written for our enlightenment, and that, as we look toward Sunday, they might challenge us to embrace our baptisms and to remember!
"The Sacrament of Baptism holds a deep reservoir of theological meaning, including: dying and rising with Jesus Christ; pardon, cleansing, and renewal; the gift of the Holy Spirit; incorporation into the body of Christ; and a sign of the realm of God. The Reformed tradition understands Baptism to be a sign of God's covenant. The water of Baptism is linked with the waters of creation, the flood, and the exodus. Baptism thus connects us with God's creative purpose, cleaning power, and redemptive promise from generation to generation. Like circumcision, a sign of God's gracious covenant with Israel, Baptism is a sign of God's gracious covenant with the Church. In this new covenant of grace God washes us clean and makes us holy and whole. Baptism also represents God's call to justice and righteousness, rolling down like a mighty stream, and the river of the water of life that flows from God's throne.
"Baptism enacts and seals what the Word proclaims: God's redeeming grace offered to all people. Baptism is at once God's give of grace, God's means of grace, and God's call to respond to the grace. Through Baptism, Jesus Christ calls us to repentance, faithfulness, and discipleship. Through Baptism, the Holy Spirit gives the Church its identity and commissions the Church for service in the world.
"Baptism is the bond of unity in Jesus Christ. When we are baptized, we are made one with Christ, with one another, and with the Church of every time and place. In Christ, barriers of race, status, and gender are overcome; we are called to seek reconciliation in the Church and world, in Jesus' name." from The Directory of Worship in The Book of Order, W-3.0402.
Always remember, dear friends, that we are Children of God!
Love,
Pastor Katie
Upcoming Events
Sunday, 1/9:
Celebration of the Baptism of Our Lord and Installation of Elders
Tuesday, 1/11:
4 p.m.: Session Meeting
Monday, 1/17:
Office closed for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
Please Turn in Your Pledges!
Our treasurer has informed us that we are behind on our pledges for 2022. If you have not yet turned in your pledges, we urge you to do so! You can bring them to the office during the week between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m.
2022 Directory Update
We're looking for your information for the 2022 Directory! Please check your listing in the current directory, and if you have any updates, contact Brittany at 419-447-2004 or at secretaryfpctiffin@gmail.com!
Service Update
We will continue to meet in person for worship and broadcast our services online, knowing that Seneca County is stressing caution for those who gather in groups. If you cannot worship with us on Facebook Sunday morning, you may also watch the service on our web page, www.fpctiffin.org during the week.
Baptism of Christ Sunday
by Maren Tirabassi
Every time we turn on the faucet
or off the teakettle,
every time we fill a washing machine
or empty the bathtub,
every time we boil a potato
or shampoo the hair of someone
who can’t raise their arms,
every time we irrigate crops or eyes,
every time we diaper a baby
shed a tear with a friend,
or offer a stranger something to drink,
every time we listen to raindrops fall,
watch snow melt
or just complain about the drip
from a pipe we can’t afford to repair,
every time, every time,
we remember we are baptized.
Maybe it happened in a church
or a lake or a river,
long ago or yesterday.
Maybe we are still swimming toward it,
or it never happened and never will.
God doesn’t mind.
Theologically speaking,
the faucet or the stranger,
either one,
would be enough.