{"id":9564,"date":"2016-08-01T00:05:33","date_gmt":"2016-08-01T05:05:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jolenephilo.com\/staging\/?p=9564"},"modified":"2016-08-01T09:22:42","modified_gmt":"2016-08-01T14:22:42","slug":"what-does-it-mean-to-be-baptized","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jolenephilo.com\/staging\/what-does-it-mean-to-be-baptized\/","title":{"rendered":"What Does It Mean To Be Baptized?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"What<\/a>\u201cGo therefore and make disciples of all the nations, \u2028baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, \u2028teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; \u2028and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.\u201d<\/em>
\nMatthew 28:19\u201320<\/em><\/p>\n

Before leaving for special needs family camp in Latvia, a number of concerns occupied my thoughts. Here are just a few: Will my suitcases be big enough to hold clothes and 30 books to give away? Will the 24 hour layovers in Istanbul, Turkey\u2013both coming and going\u2013be uneventful? Will conversing with moms through a translator keep us from bonding?<\/em> (The answers: yes, no,<\/em> and no<\/em>.)<\/p>\n

Two questions that never came to mind were the ones that dominated discussions during camp week: What does it mean to be baptized? Can people with special needs be baptized?<\/p>\n

The topic first arose when Pastor Ugis Pallo explained the meaning of baptism during morning assembly and announced that a baptismal service would be held on the last day of camp. A young woman who is non-verbal and has mild developmental delays made clear her understanding of the sacrament and her desire to be baptized. Ugis called her home pastor and invited him to participate in the ceremony, but the man declined.<\/p>\n

Because, he explained, her special needs were punishment for generational sin which made her unworthy of baptism.<\/p>\n

Though the response did not sit well with Ugis, he and the other pastor talked several more times. Somehow, by the grace of God, the issue was resolved by baptism day, and the young woman\u2019s pastor came to the service.<\/p>\n

But the story doesn\u2019t end there. Several young adults with special needs and moms of younger children started asking questions. A young woman named Diana found Ugis after supper. \u201cWhat does it mean to be baptized?\u201d she asked, and he answered her questions far into the night. Katie, a young mom nabbed Naomi, my travel partner, one afternoon. \u201cI was baptized into the Lutheran faith,\u201d she explained. \u201cHow is that different from what Ugis talked about?\u201d During our last mom\u2019s support group, which I always opened by asking if they had questions, the first one posed was, \u201cWould you explain the purpose of baptism?\u201d<\/p>\n

I began to speak, sure that God had gone ahead and prepared for every detail of the answer. From the thorough grounding about the meaning of baptism presented in Discovery Discipleship classes taken long ago. Through the teaching Pastor Tim has provided about this sacrament throughout the years. And through the presence of my translator, who happened to be Katie, the young mom who had talked with Naomi.<\/p>\n

The baptismal service on that last afternoon of camp was a blessed event:<\/p>\n

Diana, who accepted Christ during the week, was baptized.<\/p>\n

\"What<\/a>So was Laura, the daughter of the mom who asked about it during our support group.<\/p>\n

\"What<\/a>But not Katie.<\/p>\n

\"What<\/a>Katie scheduled her baptism for early August, so her family could witness her profession of faith.<\/p>\n

No translator was available during the service, but it didn\u2019t matter. The Spirit of Christ made his presence and his good pleasure known by uniting us as one and speaking to my heart as his command to make, baptize, and teach disciples in all the nations was obeyed.<\/p>\n

Feeling thankful and blessed,
\nJolene<\/p>\n

Save<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cGo therefore and make disciples of all the nations, \u2028baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, \u2028teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; \u2028and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.\u201d Matthew 28:19\u201320 Before leaving for special needs family […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9565,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[3243,3186,3177],"class_list":["post-9564","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-church-newsletter-column","tag-baptism","tag-latvia","tag-special-needs-family-camp"],"yoast_head":"\nWhat Does It Mean To Be Baptized? - Jolene Philo Staging<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What Does It Mean To Be Baptized? 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