Jesus’ baptism marks for him much the same as baptism does for anyone. It marks a new stage in life, a beginning — a launching into a new life and ministry. That’s what all baptism’s signify, mine, yours, and yes, Jesus’ too. When Jesus went into the water he was an unknown carpenters son. When he came out of the water, he was a man with a mission, a mission to save the world.

In many ways, this Collect for The Baptism of Christ encapsulates many of the essentials of what we believe the Christian faith is all about. Jesus is shown to be God’s Son; we recognize him as our Lord; and because of that we can know that we are loved as children of God.

I don’t actually remember my own baptism, I was only four months old at the time, so no surprise there. But it did mark the beginning of my public Christian journey, just as Jesus’ baptism did for him. However, my journey into a recognized public ministry came many years after my baptism, many years after my confirmation when I was thirteen years old even.

One thing that is different for me than for many Christian ministers, though, is that my church-based ministry doesn’t take place many miles away from where my baptism happened. For I was baptised, and confirmed, in Godmanchester Church, the same Church as, half a century later, I’m a Licensed Lay Minister (Reader) — it’s the only Church I’ve worshipped at regularly throughout my life.

In many ways, because of that lifetime connection with a single Church, I feel as though I am a child of that Church. There are people in the congregation who were there before me, who remember me as a baby, remember me as a rebellious teenager, missed me when I left the Church, and welcomed me back with open arms when I returned.

I’m very fortunate. I know myself as a beloved child of God through my faith in his Son Jesus Christ, my Lord and Saviour. But I also know myself as a beloved child of the Church that I love, too. And that means a lot, because, for me, the Church is an important part of my faith.

Heavenly Father,
at the Jordan you revealed Jesus as your Son:
may we recognize him as our Lord
and know ourselves to be your beloved children;
through Jesus Christ our Saviour.

Additional Collect for The Baptism of Christ
is Copyright © The Archbishops Council

This great little video has been made to go with Shakin’ Stevens’ “Merry Christmas Everyone”. I think it was made by a guy called Steve Bengree — I came across it through Facebook. The 3d models give a real feel of what Godmanchester is like.

A happy and blessed Christmas to all.

This is a view of Godmanchester church that I particularly like, even the small tree in the middle. But it does highlight the difference between the non-conformist burial ground, and the rest of the churchyard. I was standing in the non-conformist area, and you can clearly see that the gravestones are set at 90°’s to the rest — all carefully aligned of course.

This week’s Friday Foto is another one I took in Godmanchester Church recently. This one is of a small display of Easter Lilies on one of the window sills. I particularly liked the way the sun was shining through the petals of these beautiful flowers.

I had the great pleasure of presiding and preaching at Evensong on Sunday — the first time I’ve been able to do the full service in a long while. Hopefully this better spell with my health will last a bit longer this time. I’m struggling a bit with walking, even short distances, but I’ll put up with that. Anyway, here’s the sermon:

I managed to get across to Godmanchester Church when there would be no one there over the bank holiday weekend, and took my camera with me. I’d wanted to get some pictures before the Easter flowers went over too much. I still need to sort through what I took, but wanted to include one this week for my Friday Foto. This one shows the chancel and high altar.

This is a picture of the font in Godmanchester Church. The font itself is thirteenth century, but the base was put in, when the font was moved, in 1921. This is the font I was baptised in as a little baby way back in 1958.

I was intrigued when I looked at the Nativity set (which will be put away at Candlemas next week) in Godmanchester Church while I was there yesterday. Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh would be normal; but a Bounty?! I thought it was really sweet (if you’ll excuse the pun), presumably left by a child.

Jesus’ baptism marks for him much the same as baptism does for anyone. It marks a new stage in life, a beginning — a launching into a new life and ministry. That’s what all baptism’s signify, mine, yours, and yes, Jesus’ too. When Jesus went into the water he was an unknown carpenters son. When he came out of the water, he was a man with a mission, a mission to save the world.

In many ways, this Collect for The Baptism of Christ encapsulates many of the essentials of what we believe the Christian faith is all about. Jesus is shown to be God’s Son; we recognize him as our Lord; and because of that we can know that we are loved as children of God.

I don’t actually remember my own baptism, I was only four months old at the time, so no surprise there. But it did mark the beginning of my public Christian journey, just as Jesus’ baptism did for him. However, my journey into a recognized public ministry came many years after my baptism, many years after my confirmation when I was thirteen years old even.

One thing that is different for me than for many Christian ministers, though, is that my church-based ministry doesn’t take place many miles away from where my baptism happened. For I was baptised, and confirmed, in Godmanchester Church, the same Church as, half a century later, I’m a Licensed Lay Minister (Reader) — it’s the only Church I’ve worshipped at regularly throughout my life.

In many ways, because of that lifetime connection with a single Church, I feel as though I am a child of that Church. There are people in the congregation who were there before me, who remember me as a baby, remember me as a rebellious teenager, missed me when I left the Church, and welcomed me back with open arms when I returned.

I’m very fortunate. I know myself as a beloved child of God through my faith in his Son Jesus Christ, my Lord and Saviour. But I also know myself as a beloved child of the Church that I love, too. And that means a lot, because, for me, the Church is an important part of my faith.

Heavenly Father,
at the Jordan you revealed Jesus as your Son:
may we recognize him as our Lord
and know ourselves to be your beloved children;
through Jesus Christ our Saviour.

Additional Collect for The Baptism of Christ
is Copyright © The Archbishops Council

This is a picture of the Nave Altar at Godmanchester Church. We use this altar for the majority of our main Sunday morning Sung Eucharist services. You can see the High Altar and the Chancel through the Rood Screen behind it.