New Life in Christ: Baptism in The Community

Update: join us Thursday, January 2 and 12PM EST, by following this link.

For many of you, it will come as no surprise to hear me say that I’ve read the scriptures a little differently this Advent. Early in the year, my wife Karen and I learned that we were expecting a child, and so much of 2013 was spent in preparation. Preparing the way, one might say.

Not long after Eben Luke joined us, the church moved into its own season of preparation: one that has taken on new meaning for us. We can’t help but think differently about what it means to watch, especially after time spent watching little hands and feet poking through, and wondering what was to come. We can’t help but identify with what it means to wait, especially after having been given a gift that we simply couldn’t break down and unwrap on our own schedule (Karen and I have never been very good with surprises). Hope, peace, joy, and love are all different this year.

But we didn’t make that journey alone: our friends and family were with us along the way, as was the church: our own parish, other communities we have visited, and Christians from across the country (and as far as New Zealand) that stay in touch by social media. And so as we look to welcome Eben into the Church and life of faith, we do so with a sense of thankfulness, and with a new understanding of how it takes a village to raise a child.

In that light, we’d like to invite you to join us for his baptism! Because in many ways, The Community is a community of faith, and one our family is connected to, as we explore new ways of building community and supporting one another. We’ll be celebrating together in the Chapel of the Holy Apostles, here at Church House in Toronto, on January 2, 2014, at 12:00 P.M.

Can’t join us here in Toronto? No worries! We’ll be offering a live webcast so you can join in, whether you’re close family friends, prayerful supporters, or whether you’re simply interested in new ways of using technology to worship together over a distance.

If you’re planning to join us online in the new year, let us know by following this link! We’ll email you the webcast URL as soon as it is available.It is our hope that as the the General Secretary poses the question, “Will you who witness these vows do all in your power to support Eben Luke in his life in Christ?” that The Community will respond with the words, “We will.”