My baby dedication was last Sunday!
My brother, Owen, read along. He wanted to be ready for his part.
It looks like I'm reading . . .
Mimi and Pops were here, too.
Jodi walked me around the church.
I tried to eat the microphone.
Here are the words of my dedication:
Today as we prepare to dedicate Grayson William Mayo Stepp we recall stories in scripture that remind us of the tradition of parents bringing their children to religious communities to be dedicated and blessed. We remember that Jesus was brought by his parents as an infant to the Temple for dedication to God. And later, as he was teaching about the realm of God’s love, Jesus welcomed the children saying, “Let the little children come to me, for to such as these belongs the kingdom of heaven. And he took them in his arms and blessed them.” And now we will bless and welcome this little one.
I ask Grayson
and his family to come forward.
Dedication
of Grayson William Mayo Stepp
Leader:
Laura and Nick in bringing Grayson to be blessed, you acknowledge that he is a
gift entrusted to your care. In that spirit, do you commit yourselves to parent
this child with compassion, respect, patience and love and accept him for who
he is and who he will become?
Parents:
Yes.
Leader:
Relying on God’s grace, do you promise to raise this child within the love and
support of the church, to nurture this child spiritually, and to allow him the
freedom to learn and grow?
Do you promise to teach Grayson to be concerned for family,
community, and world and to act with compassion toward all as Jesus did?
Parents:
We do. We thankfully receive Grayson as a gift from God. With humility and hope
we dedicate ourselves to love and care for him.
Leader:
I ask you, Owen, Grayson’s big brother, will you help care for your brother and
teach him all you can about love?
Owen:
Yes.
Leader:
I ask you, Grayson’s grandparents, will you promise to love this child, support
and care for his parents and brother, and encourage Grayson as he learns the
teachings of Jesus and the love of God?
Family:
We will.
Leader:
Do you, the family that is Covenant Church, receive Grayson into your love and
care; do you join his parents, Nick and Laura and his brother, Owen, in sharing
the responsibility to nurture his character and spirit; and do you offer the
sheltering arms of this fellowship to these parents, brother, and this child?
Congregation:
We rejoice in God’s blessing of Grayson. We seek God’s grace to be a community
to your family. We will support you and Grayson, and pray that through our love
he may come to know God's love.
Prayer:
Loving
God, as we look into the face of Grayson, we remember again that life is a
gift; it is a mystery; it is sacred. We pray in thanksgiving for the new life
that has come into this family and community. May his days be full of love and
may he grow up sure and loving, kind and strong.
We pray
for those who will care for Grayson—his parents, Laura and Nick, his big brother,
Owen, his grandparents, uncles and aunt and his cousins and this community of
faith. We know the spirit of those who have gone before will rest with this
precious child.
May we
provide Grayson with opportunities for fresh explorations, as well as giving
him havens of security. May we allow Grayson to discover and to hold his own
values, and not expect him to adopt ours.
We pray for
all the world’s children, that they may have safety and peace and love, and we
pray for ourselves, that we may be worthy of our children’s trust. Amen
The following pictures are from my brother's baby dedication. He was dedicated in July of 2008.
