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Dear
Cathedral Family,
We are so
happy to welcome those being baptized at this Sundays 10:30 service.
Please join us in prayer and celebration as they are welcomed into
the family of God.
Scott
Ferguson, Neha (Tracy) Just, and Kaige O’Loughlin Willy
In the
waters of the Jordan, Jesus steps into the place of sinners—not
because He needs repentance, but because He chooses solidarity with
us. As He is baptized, heaven is opened, the Spirit descends like a
dove, and the Father’s voice declares, “This is my beloved Son,
with whom I am well pleased.” In this moment, we see the mystery
of God revealed: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit united in love and
purpose.
The
baptism of Jesus marks the beginning of His public ministry, but it
also gives meaning to our own baptism. When we are baptized into His
Name, we are claimed by the same grace, sealed by the same Spirit,
and welcomed into the same covenant of love. We are named beloved—not
by our merit, but by God’s mercy.
Baptism
is both a gift and a calling. It assures us of God’s promise, and it
summons us to faithfulness. As Christ rose from the waters to walk
the path of obedience, so we are called to live as His
disciples—keeping the covenant we have made, turning from sin, and
boldly confessing Jesus as Lord and Savior.
May we
remember that in our baptism, heaven has been opened to us. We are
never alone. The Spirit strengthens us, the Son walks with us, and
the Father delights in us. Let us live as those who belong to Christ,
to the glory of God, now and forever. Amen.
Father
in heaven,
who
at the baptism of Jesus in the River Jordan proclaimed him your
beloved Son
and
anointed him with the Holy Spirit:
Grant
that all who are baptized into his Name
may
keep the covenant they have made,
and
boldly confess him as Lord and Savior;
who
with you and the Holy Spirit
lives
and reigns, one God, in glory everlasting.
Blessed
be the Name of the Lord,
from
this time forth for evermore.
Glory
to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit,
as it
was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever.
Amen.
In Peace,
Tim+
The
Rev. Timothy M. Kingsley
Provost,
Saint Mark's Episcopal Cathedral
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