Our plans to install a new baptismal font in the church are about creating a more welcoming and awe-inspiring environment as people come from many walks of life to our house of prayer.

We thank those who attended the presentation on November 16, explaining our plans to install a new baptismal font in our church. Fr. Peter McGuine, our Liturgical Consultant, gave a power point presentation explaining the importance of baptism in the life of each Christian and in our parish life. He showed many churches around the Diocese (and beyond) which have also installed beautiful fonts, either as new churches, or as a remodel of their existing church. Our architect, Bennett Lord, then presented the drawings for our font. Our next step is to go before the Liturgical Art and Architecture committee of our Diocese for approval.

The font will provide for infant baptisms as well as full immersion baptisms for adults. It will have a small “waterfall”, i.e., one wall of the font will have a slow cascading of water to allow the handicapped, and others who cannot reach the top of the font, to touch the holy water and bless themselves.

I was recently asked: How many baptisms do we have in a year? In 2019 we had (or will have) five regularly-scheduled baptisms in English, plus four additional celebrations to accommodate parishioners who had guests coming from out of town. That makes a total of nine celebrations of the Rite of Baptism in English, with 1-4 children being baptized in each event. In Spanish, we had 6 celebrations of baptism, with 1-4 children being baptized in each event. At the Easter Vigil we usually have 1-2 adults or children over the age of seven being baptized.

At funerals (we have plenty of those!) we begin at the entrance of the Church with the blessing of the body of the deceased with the Holy Water. Having a more dignified font will enhance the meaning of these celebrations, and also it will give the Presider a beautiful reference point to invite those who are not yet baptized to open their hearts and lives to the saving waters of baptism into Jesus Christ!