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Dear Covenant Family,
Our Reformed tradition understands baptism to be a sign of God’s covenant. The water of baptism is linked with the waters of creation, the flood, and the exodus. Both believers and their children are included in God’s covenant love. We can remember our own baptism when we bathe, or wash the dog, when rain renews the earth or when the sun rises over the water. It’s also good to remember the baptismal vows we made, or which were made on our behalf:
• Trusting in the gracious mercy of God, do you turn from the ways of sin and renounce evil and its power in the world? I do.
• Who is your Lord and Savior? Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior.
• Will you be Christ’s faithful disciple, obeying his word and showing his love? I will, with God’s help.
• Will you devote yourself to the church’s teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers? I will, with God’s help.
With God’s help, we can live with intention, grace, and gratitude in this new year. Reminding ourselves that we are beloved by God is a good way to start!
Faithful companion,
In this new year we pray:
to live deeply, with purpose,
to live freely, with detachment,
to live wisely, with humility,
to live justly, with compassion,
to live longingly, with fidelity,
to live mindfully, with awareness,
to live gracefully, with generosity,
to live fully, with enthusiasm.
Help us to hold this vision
and to daily renew it in our hearts,
becoming ever more one with you,
our truest Selves.
Amen.
(Sr. Joyce Rupp, Out of the Ordinary: Prayers, Poems, and Reflections for Every Season. Notre Dame, Ind.: Ave Maria Press, 2010, p. 144.)
Remember your baptism and be thankful.
Pastor Jessie
Pastor@covenantweb.org
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