Baptism at the creek April12 2015

This past Sunday our church experienced something new and old in worship at the same time. Baptism at the creek by our church. We have a beautiful prayer garden and the creek that runs through our church property had a huge restoration project done about 6 years ago, and the whole area is a place of God's beauty that we have enjoyed because it is a beautiful setting to seek to be closer to the heart of God.  Last Sunday, Carrie Caviness joined our church, and Seth and Carrie's son Hank was baptized at the creek.  He was baptized by pouring with the church gathered by the banks of the creek. From talking with long time members, the best we could pull together was that our original charter members from 1960 when the church was started, were baptized by Rev. Joe McMurray in the creek.  We were not able to find any others who had been baptized at the creek since then. So after about 50 years, we came back to the same spot in the creek, to baptize Hank.  As a church family, we celebrate the wonder of baptism, and the full liturgy of what that means to us as God acts through that sacrament. We celebrate Hank being baptized. We celebrate Carrie joining the church where Seth was raised and he was already a member here.
     Another special layer of beauty was added for this family because in Carrie's work, the company that she works for did the restoration project for our church on the creek several years back.  She works to restore creeks for a living and did her doctoral work on this area of environmental work. Not a coincidence to have all these things come together for such a special day.  So to say having the baptism outside was a special day is so true on many levels. I have seen Hank's grandparents spend countless hours at the prayer garden pulling weeds over the last five years while I have been here at Deerfield.  The grandmother noted that she never dreamed she would have such a special memory to be added to this spot that was already close to her heart as well. Now when I go down to the creek, I can go sit on the rock where Hank was baptized and know this is the place where God meets with his people.
    We continue to look for the hand of God working in our midst and celebrate how only the Lord could pull together the details for this day is just the right way to touch so many hearts. We are so blessed!