For right now we are attending Christ the King Anglican Church in Birmingham. It happens to meet in the chapel of Joel's school, which is a stunning place of worship, beautifully filled with art and symbols of biblical faith and church history.
Pastor Dorsett wore gold two Sundays ago for All Saints Day. All Saints Day is one of the traditional feast days for doing baptisms, and Beatrice was one of seven children baptized that morning. It was particularly sweet because it also happened to be the church's seventh birthday, and also, being All Saints Day, a day we were remembering those who have died and are already in God's presence including, we believe, our son.
Dr. Dorsett's sermon was on the unity of believers. He reminded us of the unity we should seek to live out here and now, and then went on to also emphasize the unity we have with the Great Cloud of Witnesses. We sing praise to our God together with them; they have the joy of being unhindered before his throne while we anticipate what that will be like. Years ago my thinking about death shifted when I started thinking about how eternal life begins now, not when we die or after death; death is just a transition. During the Eucharist that Sunday it was powerful to reflect on all those saints who are in perfect communion with God, and it gave me encouragement as I struggle some days to just get a taste.
I do not understand the full mystery of baptism (or of any of the sacraments, for that matter), but do I think that it, like the other sacraments, has a purpose not just for the recipient but for the congregation as well. In particular it greatly blessed me. It was a tangible reminder of what stake my hope upon - God's covenant of salvation to his people, even when they are helpless as babies to reciprocate.
Pastor Dorset's wife, Mary, is the deacon. She spent time praying for each child during the weeks leading up to the service. She had inquired about the history or meaning behind each of their names and during the service she explained each child's name to the congregation, and read a prayer that she had written uniquely for each one reflecting their names, family history, and what God had put in her heart for each of them.
Beatrice slept through the whole service. She didn't even wake up when the water ran over her head!
The day got busy so I dressed her up a few days ago to take a few picture of her all dressed up. We didn't have an heirloom dedication gown, but we do have an heirloom love-seat (with brand new upholstery by our dear friend in Medford!) The dress (basic bodice down to the first row of lace) is actually the one I made for Elsa and that Nora wore too. I wanted something a little different for Beatrice and I still had some extra fabric from the original dress, so I added the length and all the lace from whatever vintage bits I had in my stash. I think some of the lace was from my great grandma, so I guess the dress has more heritage than I first thought.
Beatrice didn't care about the lace. She just liked kicking the long skirt.
...so she can EAT IT!
Really though, daily life has been so crazy for me that it was good to have a fun project to work on. My counselor had given me homework to start doing some of my hobbies again even though it didn't feel reasonable to do so. I am not one to leave homework undone, so I added my sewing machine table to the mayhem and remade the dress. I had a lot of fun with it, but I won't tell how many days it took or how many times I had to un-bury my supplies from the clutter-and-kid-stuff-attracting sewing table.
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