Baptism books

2013 started off well for me, as I got to perform my first baptism of the year on Epiphany, which had the good manners to fall on a Lord's Day this time through the liturgical calendar. This gave me the opportunity to cram in two sacraments after the sermon, which in turn meant I got to go from Epiphany to Pentecost to the new heavens and earth within about 45 minutes, and pulled off the whole liturgy in just 90 minutes. A pretty decent land speed, if I say so myself.

For a number of years now, I've made a practice of gifting baptizands with an age-appropriate book. For infants (as this last one was), I've been giving copies of Water, Come Down! by Walter Wangerin. It anthropomorphizes elements of the creation to teach the child about the significance of his or her baptism. Read repeatedly (as any children's book must be), it will help said child interpret Biblical imagery and appropriate her or his identity as a child of God.

I also pay a home visit during the week before the baptism. For a first child, this gives me the opportunity to instruct the new parents on the reasons we baptize our children. (Sadly, those who grew up in presbyterian or reformed homes are often the shakiest on these.) For subsequent children, it's a chance to help the older sibling(s) view the upcoming celebration less as yet another occasion on which s/he will be ignored in favor of this new interloper and more as the first time to really improve on one's own baptism. To that end, the board book Things I See at Baptism by Julie Stigmeyer explains the sacrament by emphasizing important key words and by emphasizing baptism as the entry point into Church membership. I usually ask the parents to read it with their child(ren) every day before the baptism.

My discerning readers will have already searched Amazon for these titles and noticed they're both written by Lutherans, for Lutherans. Given our robust doctrines of covenant and, therefore, infant baptism, one would think presbyterians would have produced any number of children's books on baptism. One would think; however, after much searching, I must tell one that one is incorrect.

I trust someone in my vast international readership will soon correct this grievous oversight.