Children, Youth & Family Ministries
Last Sunday the kids in our Grades 2-5 class finished making baptism banners. This is one of the activities they’ve been engaged with as they consider what it means to be “sealed by the Holy Spirit in baptism and marked as Christ’s own forever” (p 308, Book of Common Prayer). Every single one of these banners is delightful, and I urge you to come downstairs and look at them on display in the undercroft.
This one caught my eye for a few reasons. Like several others, it prominently features the ichthys, the fish drawing that the first Christians used as a secret sign for Jesus. The I (iota) is the first Greek letter of the name “Jesus.” The CH (chi) is the first letter of Christos, Greek for “anointed.” The TH (theta) is the first letter of Theos, the Greek word for “God.” The Y (upsilon) is the first letter for the Greek word for “son.” And the S (sigma) is the first letter for the Greek word for “savior.” Thus, “Jesus Christ, God’s Son, Savior.” The maker of this banner has shown how his baptism forever connects him with Jesus, the Light of the world (notice the candles?).
He also has drawn water outlines, so he gets that baptism always involves water: the water of creation, the water of freedom, even the water of death – out of which new life comes.
Most of all I love the message: “Luke is awesome.” I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s a swagger behind this message. But I like that this is how he sees himself (or at least how he felt last Sunday).
This is also how God sees this young boy: “You are my child. In you I find much happiness. You are awesome!”
I’m glad that this child already senses that God loves him. I hope he comes to appreciate just how much and how steadfast that divine love is. No matter what, God is always saying to each one of us, “I am crazy about you. You are awesome!”
Yours, in Christ,
Becky Taylor, Director of Children, Youth & Family Ministries