Baptism is a special washing of water that is a sign of God’s washing away of our sin that comes from believing in the death of Jesus and his resurrection.

Baptism doesn’t save someone from their sin but it does signify that a person is part of the household of God, a member of the church.

When a person becomes a Christian when they are older than a child, they can declare their own faith when they are baptised before the church.

But, when an infant is born into a family with a believing parent, we baptise those babies to show they are a member of the church because they are in a household of Christian parents.

When those infants grow older, we pray that they will own their own faith, and declare it publicly at a ‘Confirmation’ service.

The New Testament shows a close connection between the circumcision of baby boys in the Old Covenant with the baptism of babies in the New Covenant (see Colossians 2:11-12).

There is also a statement in 1 Corinthians 7:14 that says that children of an unbelieving father are considered to be “sanctified.”

Mandy and I baptised our four children when they were babies so that we could receive this wonderful sign from Jesus that declares to the church that our children are Christians because they’re born to Christian parents.

We’ve always spoken of our children as Christians, even before they could walk or talk, and we’ve prayed that our children would one day receive all the benefits of what their baptism points to when they are able to own that faith when they are older.

So, we haven’t prayed that our kids would grow up to become Christians, but instead have prayed that they’d grow up to own their faith, which they publicly declared at their Confirmation service.

If you or a member of your family would like to be baptised, then I’d love to chat with you to make a time for this special event in the life of our church.

JODIE McNEILL

(Photo credit: Colin Bowern via Flickr.com)

At the recent gathering of leaders at our Sydney Anglican Synod, we affirmed our commitment to seek reconciliation with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

We want to support and encourage every person, parish and Diocesan organisation to partner in Indigenous Ministry through the development of an Action Plan.

As we develop this plan, we pray that it will encourage the development of personal relationships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples with a view to walk alongside them, as well as partnering in prayer and partnering financially and in other practical ways with one or more Indigenous ministries.

To make this happen, I’m looking to gather a group of people to help us develop such an Action Plan, and if you’re willing and able, please let me know.

After we establish that group, I’m hoping we’ll have a fresh look at ways to appropriately include acknowledgements of country in our ministries.

In the meantime, the Bush Church Aid Society has developed a Reconciliation Action Plan that can help us prepare our own plan at Jamberoo Anglican.

Within that document is this Acknowledgment of Country statement, which I have adapted for our own context.

As we gather here, we acknowledge the triune God, the Creator of heaven and earth and His ownership of all things. We recognise that He gave stewardship of these lands upon which we meet to the Wodi Wodi people of the Dharawal Nation. In his sovereignty, He has allowed other people groups to migrate to these shores. We acknowledge the cultures of our First Nations Peoples and are thankful for the communities that we share together now. We pay our respects to their elders and leaders, both past and present, and those who are rising up to become leaders. 

JODIE McNEILL

(This artwork is featured on the cover of the Bush Church Aid Reconciliation Action Plan, and is created by Artist Melissa Lilley, a Yankunytjatjara woman from South Australia)