Sharing the Lifelong Gift of Baptism

by The Rev. Joyce Scherer-Hoock

“I felt good about refocusing on what’s important.”

“This class was a valuable use of my time (because) it reminded me of my own baptismal and reception commitments.”

“I think that … baptism is a way to recharge/inspire parents and to get them to think about their own spiritual journey as much or more than their children’s.”

These are some of the responses to the Baptismal preparation I led for parents in my Episcopal parish for five years. As I look back, I realize that teaching classes for parents preparing for their child’s baptism has been one of the most rewarding aspects of the priesthood for me.

In my experience, parents deeply appreciate the opportunity to reflect and discuss the serious issues around guiding the spiritual and moral development of their children. One Sunday in a class, one of the parents blurted out, “I don’t understand why all churches don’t do this. My friends have had their children baptized in other churches and no one explained anything to them!”

I have had the chance to share this model with others over the last year in the Baptized: Opening the Gift class with CCTheo. The purpose of this four-week class on zoom is to provide a curriculum parish leaders can use to deepen parishioners’ understanding of baptism and commitment to Jesus. The course welcomes ecumenical participation: religious education leaders from Roman Catholic, Episcopal and other Protestant churches have participated. Participants have reported back that after implementing the course, they have seen more enthusiastic participation in the sacrament of Baptism and in parish life after baptism

Baptism is a lifelong gift. Are you able to help your people open this gift?

The idea for offering classes in small groups to parents seeking baptism for their children came to me after several years in ministry. The canonical requirements for priests states “before baptizing infants or children they shall prepare the sponsors by instructing both the parents and Godparents concerning the significance of Holy Baptism, the baptized child, and how these obligations may be properly discharged.” For several years I tried to do this by having a one-session discussion with individual couples. In this meeting I attempted to cram a lot into a short period of time. (The significance of Baptism is a big subject in itself, without the duties and responsibilities of the parent added on.) 

After doing this for a while a couple of things began to occur to me:

• People’s eyes were glazing over because too much was being presented all at once.
• Couples often had church backgrounds different from one another, as well as from the Episcopal Church. Their understanding of baptism tended to be sketchy at best and too frequently superstitious or incorrect.
• The pastoral standard I was taught for marriage preparation involved 3 or more sessions. Baptism and Holy Communion are the central sacraments of the Church. I would not attempt to prepare people for Holy Communion or Marriage in just one session. Why should I expect one session to be enough for the most important and fundamental public commitment to God, Christ and Church?
• Most parents bringing children for baptism were new to the congregation. I observed that they often had a hard time finding people with whom they could form connections in the congregation. A chat in my office and a quick appearance one Sunday morning in the service was a poor way to help them feel welcome and become active participating members of the Christian community. (Which is what one promises to do when promising to “continue in the apostles teaching, the breaking of bread and the prayers.”)
• I knew from my time as a teacher that working with a small group opened up opportunities of varying the manner of presentation. Moving away from a lecture type presentation would help people to better absorb and retain the material being presented.

After I did this several times it was clear to me from the evaluation sheets I got back that this was a much more effective way of helping people understand the meaning of Baptism and approach the sacrament honestly and responsibly. I was also much happier about the fact that I was living up to the intent of the canonical instruction to help people understand Baptism and the responsibilities to their child in relation to the Church. And having people meet and be introduced to each other seemed to help people become attached to the local church and become active.

As I have continued to teach these classes, I have had the satisfaction of refining the material I present, so that it fits new parents and their concerns. In the classes we look at what the Bible says about baptism; then, we look at the renunciations and affirmations which are made and discuss them in light of talking to children about why “bad things happen to good people.” Additionally, we ask parents to discuss and write down some of that things  that are important to them as they celebrate holidays together, create family rituals and find ways to pass their faith on to their children in everyday, at-home family life. We also usually talk about children and communion. Additionally, I give some practical orientation to our church for new families.

Join me to learn more about how to bring this model to your parish in the Baptized: Opening the Gift class. Sign up now -the next class begins in October! The interactive, discussion-based  live class on zoom  gives a set of lesson plans in the form of an illustrated slide show, handouts, and a meditation on baptism that speaks to all ages.

And join us tonight, Sept. 25,  for “Baptism Work throughout the year,”  a free discussion from 7 pm-8:30 pm ET on zoom. The conversation will consider how to incorporate the Baptism work in the atrium, beyond  the more active weeks of Easter and how to encourage families to live the baptized life every day.

About the author: The Rev. Joyce Scherer-Hoock is an Episcopal priest. In addition to preaching and celebrating the Eucharist, Christian Formation for all ages has been central to her ministry. Joyce is certified in all three Levels of the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, and she began teaching adults that method. She especially enjoys building bridges between Roman Catholics and Protestants in her courses. Before ordination she taught high potential learning-disabled adolescents at Landmark School. She and her husband Bob have two adult daughters and live in Massachusetts with their Shetland Sheepdog, a goat and a miniature horse.