Font

To many people baptism is a mysterious thing. To even more people the font that holds the water is even more mysterious and an often troubling thing. Every church building runs into this in their own way based on their architecture. Some churches have the font at the doorway which is great because it serves as a reminder of baptism right when you walk in the doorway. You instantly remember who you are. Yet, it can also be like walking into a club with a secret handshake and, if you walk by the font and don't do the right move people know instantly that you are not in the club. Other churches deal with the font by hiding it. They place the font, or pool in this case, behind a window or under the floor. This is great because when it is time for a baptism, everyone is well aware that something is different about this service and buzz goes through the air. People are excited about this service. Yet, it can feel like these churches are ashamed of their baptism. They only break out the font when someone chooses to do something for their part, and then they put it away until someone else decides that it's time for them to do something for their part. And then there are those churches that place the font by the table. They have the font setup near the front of the sanctuary but it is usually small and portable and can be moved around. This is great because the proximity to the table reminds everyone how truly connected the sacraments are and how God speaks to us through baptism and also when we gather at the table. Yet, it can also seem like this font is decoration and when someone is born we take the cover off and pour or sprinkle some water on the child and then put the cover back on. It's like these churches are saying this week we remember we have grace and a promise in Jesus but next week, we are going to cover the font so we don't...



If you have ever been to Rolling Acres CRC you would know that the font sits right by the table. It rests, embedded in the woodwork as you ascend the steps to the table. This is a wonderful picture of the connection between font and table described above but do we ever find ourselves falling into the pitfalls of church architecture? Or, no matter how hard we try, do all churches find themselves struggling with the idea of baptism and the mysterious vessel that is the font? How does the Church come to grips with a part of our worship that is so simple in design yet, so complicated in meaning?

Maybe the hope here is that baptism does have a meaning outside of what we do with it. Maybe the hope is, no matter where we hide the font or no matter how it fits into our church structure, God is speaking through time and space when we gather around the font. God is reaching through the junk in our lives to call us home--to mark us as belonging to God. Maybe how we solve the problem of architecture is simply by remembering who is moving and active in baptism. Maybe if we do that, the excitement of baptism will never go away; even when we are not in close proximity to the font.

Grace and Peace