Life Events

BAPTISM

Holy Baptism is the sacrament by which God adopts us as his children and makes us members of Christ’s Body, the Church, and inheritors of the kingdom of God.  Once we are baptized, we are Christians united with Christ.  In Baptism, our love for God and our awareness of His love for us are awakened in a marvelous way.

Baptism requires that we renounce Satan, repent of our sins, and accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior.  In our tradition, Satan is a fallen angel.  This legend reminds us that evil is a corruption of good.  Evil is a shortcut to nowhere.  So we make a promise to turn our backs on Satan and march in the opposite direction.  We march in a positive direction - accepting Jesus as our Lord and Savior.  The Prayer Book teaches that our trust is a conviction and a good feeling in a willingness to follow and obey Jesus, our Savior, our Lord and Master as well.

CONFIRMATION

Confirmation is the rite in which we express a mature commitment to Christ, and receive strength from the Holy Spirit through prayer and the laying on of hands by a bishop.  The rite of Confirmation is an expectation of the Church for all Christians.  It marks our total belonging to Christ, our enrollment in His service forever, as well as His promise of divine protection upon us.  The grace of this sacrament fills us with the spirit of wonder and awe in God’s presence.

In the Episcopal Church, baptism is a pre-requisite for admission to all Christian sacraments.  Before Confirmation, instruction in the Faith, normally either by or at the discretion of a priest is provided.  Those to be confirmed should be both penitent for their sins and ready to make explicit their belief and trust in Christ as both Savior and Lord.  Confirmation instruction should provide a thorough grounding in basic beliefs as stated in the two great creeds of the Church and The Book of Common Prayer.  The precise age of Confirmation is now seen as a pastoral matter, but the Prayer Book anticipates that it will be at a time when a mature commitment to Christ can be expressed.

MARRIAGE

Holy Matrimony is a Christian marriage, in which the woman and man enter into a life-long union, make their vows before God and the Church, and receive the grace and blessing of God to help them fulfill their vows.  Matrimony existed long before the Christian Church.  It is a sacrament of the natural order.  The outward and visible sign of Holy Matrimony is the giving of rings and the joining of hands.  The inward grace of Holy Matrimony is the blessing of God to enrich and fulfill their vows.

In the Episcopal Church, it is required that at least one of the parties must be baptized Christian;  that the ceremony be attested by at least two witnesses;  and that the marriage conform to the laws of the State and the canons of this Church.  A priest or bishop normally presides at the Celebration and Blessing of a marriage, because such ministers alone have the function of pronouncing the nuptial blessing and celebrating the Holy Eucharist.

ANOINTING OF THE SICK

The anointing of the Sick with oil, or the laying on of hands, is God’s grace given for the healing of spirit, mind and body.  The grace of this sacrament is one of strengthening, peace and courage to overcome the difficulties that go with the condition of serious illness or the frailty of old age.  It is a liturgical and communal celebration, whether it takes place in the family home, a hospital, or a church, for a single sick person or a whole group of sick persons.  It is very fitting to celebrate it within the Holy Eucharist.

FUNERAL

The death of a member of the Episcopal Church should be reported as soon as possible to, and arrangement for the funeral should be made in consultation with, the Minister of the Congregation.  Baptized Christians are properly buried from the church and held at a time when the congregation has opportunity to be present.