Last Sunday was a day of celebration! Celebrations of milestones in the faith of individuals. Celebrations in milestones for us as a church. Celebrations of the Holy Spirit of God at work in the world in ways that become ever more obvious.
With Bishop Andrew present, we were able to not only celebrate with Drew, Angelique, Peyton, Sid, Edie, Isaac, Jeanie and Louise as they were baptised, but also with Derry, Julie, Ruth, Graeme, Drew and Angelique as they were confirmed by the bishop. Amongst the chaos of it all, a beautiful order and tone was noted by everyone who attended as we just got about the work of bringing in and affirming the work that God was doing in these people's lives, and our own.
For some, the gathering was a little different. With the inflatable pool blown up and the water warmed, we offered full immersion baptisms. With Alan in the pool in togs and a t-shirt, the newly baptised were then met by a fully robed Bishop Andrew who anointed them with holy oil - truly a beautiful statement of the richness of the tradition of church is rooted in.
The celebrations didn't end there either. At a lunch for some of the candidates following the service, we became aware that one of the members of our church, Steve, had not been baptised (he was unwell when most of the other kids were being 'done' in his childhood). In keeping with the spirit of the day and the Spirit of God, we made the call to baptise him then and there. So, the Vicar open the spa pool on is deck and proceeded to baptise Steve and welcome him formally into the flock. That was the 10th baptism we have celebrated in between Sunday 4 and Sunday 12 August - long may the celebrations and baptisms continue!
Below are some 'reels' from the church's instagram account that captured briefly some of the moments from Sunday past!
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