Baptism
Photo Courtesy of Via Media Methodists
Special to United Methodist Insight
As I listened to the COVID-19 Task Force list the phases that must be successfully navigated to reopen our states to some sense of normalcy, I realized that every phase recommended the continuation of social distancing until a vaccine is developed, probably sometime in 2021. Not only will social distancing change the look of our worship services, it may alter our practice of baptism.
The instructions concerning baptism in The United Methodist Hymnal begin like this:
The Baptismal Covenant is God's word to us, proclaiming our adoption by grace, and our word to God promising our response of faith and love. Those within the covenant constitute the community we call the church; therefore, the services of the Baptismal Covenant are conducted during the public worship of the congregation where the person's membership is to be held, except in very unusual circumstances. These services are best placed in the order of worship as a response following the reading of Scripture and its exposition in the service. p.32
As I read these words as well as the exposition of our understanding of baptism within By Water and the Spirit, I wondered how we continue follow these instructions in the era of COVID-19. All pastors have confronted those situations which required baptism outside public worship: a dying newborn in the hospital, a confirmation youth who wishes to be immersed and the church lacks a baptistery or a senior citizen unable to attend worship. These baptisms are valid because grace is everywhere, and baptism is a means for God's grace to fill our lives. Still, these acts of baptism were the rare exceptions.
Under COVID-10 restrictions, will we no longer nestle babies in our arms as we baptize them, but rather pronounce the sacred words: "I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit," while empowering the parent/s to administer the water on their child's head? Will we baptize adults at arm’s length while wearing a mask?
What about those living in states where public worship remains online for many more months? Will pastors (after testing negative for COVID-19) travel to homes where 10 or fewer have gathered for the baptismal service? I envision that each service could be recorded and included within the next online worship service while adding the congregational responses to be recited at home.
Or do we postpone all baptisms until a vaccine for COVID-19 has been developed and 80% of our nation has been vaccinated? According to the experts, eighty percent is the level our nation must achieve to be protected from COVID-19.
In Water and the Spirit: A United Methodist Understanding of Baptism, we affirm this belief: "Baptism is at the heart of the Gospel of grace and at the core of the Church’s mission. When we baptize we say what we understand as Christians about ourselves and our community: that we are loved into being by God, lost because of sin, but redeemed and saved in Jesus Christ to live new lives in anticipation of his coming again in glory. Baptism is an expression of God’s love for the world, and the effects of baptism also express God’s grace. As baptized people of God, we therefore respond with praise and thanksgiving, praying that God’s will be done in our own lives." pg. 15 Our affirmation of God's love for us and our acceptance of that love cannot be pushed into another season of our lives or our children's lives. More than ever, we need this sacramental recognition of God's prevenient grace at work in our lives. More than ever, we need to celebrate that God is with us.
Bishop Gerald Glenn of New Deliverance Evangelistic Church in VA continued to hold public worship services after Governor Ralph Northam urged people to avoid non-essential gatherings of more than 10 people and before the governor made this mandatory law. Bishop Glenn told his church on March 22nd, " I firmly believe that God is larger than this dreaded virus." By April 11th, Bishop Glenn had died of COVID-19. Let this be a cautionary tale against doing church the way it's always been done. Yes, we are people of faith but we are also people of reason.
John Wesley's home in London contains medical devices that we would regard as quackery, but represented the cutting edge of science in his day. John Wesley would have us use science to keep our flocks safe while continuing to live out our faith during these challenging times.
Discipleship Ministries in coordination with the Council of Bishops must develop a guide for baptism in the era of COVID-19. We need a set of safe practices that preserve the integrity of baptism.
Wesley advocated for all forms of baptism: sprinkling, pouring or immersion. He knew it was immaterial how much water is used. Baptism is an outward sign of an inward grace. Maybe it is immaterial in our time whether baptism happens in a sanctuary or in a home or whether the water is applied by a minister or a parent. What matters is that in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, we are marked forever in this sacrament as a beloved child of God.
The Rev. Daryl Fansler is a retired clergy member of the Illinois Great Rivers Conference. He blogs at www.be-the-church.com