Lucky Ann!

The ‘dedication to God’ ceremony that I witnessed at the church that Sunday morning was not just a ritual, but, in fact, a great lesson in parenting for young parents.

By Niggy

I was very fortunate on a Sunday morning recently to witness a very beautiful, touching and soul-stirring ceremony at a church in the city where I live. In the course of the worship service, a senior pastor of the church invited a couple who were present there to come up for the dedication of their little child Ann to God.

Initially, I had no idea what this was about as I had never seen anything like this before. But as the ceremony began unfolding, led by the pastor, I realized what a spiritual marvel it was. First, the pastor called the parents of the baby girl to the altar. Then, he began reading a passage, including the vows that the parents of the baby had to take—a promise they were making to God to bring up their daughter Ann with responsibility since she was a gift from God. The infant’s parents vowed to inculcate Christian values in the child as well as guide her towards the path of Jesus Christ. The parents replied “We do” as the pastor indicated when they should respond in this way. The pastor then took the baby in his arms and blessed her. The mother handed over the infant to the father when the pastor stated that the father was responsible for the spiritual leadership in the family. Then, the pastor requested the couple to turn towards the congregation and face the worshippers. The pastor requested the congregation to spiritually support the young parents in their journey.

I had never seen such a ‘dedication to God’ ceremony ever, anywhere. In fact, I never even knew of the existence of this sort of beautiful custom until I witnessed it myself that day!

Later, in his sermon, the pastor spoke on the subject of family life, bringing into his homily some passages from the Gospel. He highlighted how a family is like a workshop, giving the example of a vehicle, all of whose parts should function well for the vehicle to move properly or else the vehicle has to be sent to a workshop for repairs. In the same manner, the pastor indicated, all members of a family can live in harmony if they understand each other and correct each other when someone goes astray by giving each other moral, spiritual and emotional support. The pastor also touched upon how important it is for family members to use soft speech. He explained that even one simple sentence that is toxic can destroy a family bond in seconds.

I was impressed at how the pastor spoke so eloquently on a topic as important as family life and parenting, which must have touched the hearts of many worshippers in the church that day. Such sermons are very important in today’s fast-paced world, where many people are so taken up with superficial goals that they ignore or forget the aspect of God’s presence even within the family.

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Ann, the baby who was dedicated to God in the church that day, is very fortunate as her journey began on a great spiritual note. When she grows up, hopefully, she will be grateful to her parents for giving her this beautiful gift of being dedicated to God.

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The dedication to God ceremony that I witnessed at the church that Sunday morning was not just a ritual, but, in fact, a great lesson in parenting for young parents, which no book, conference or seminar could have given them! I offer abundant thanks for the wonderful learning lesson I learnt that day to the church and the pastor, as well as to Baby Ann and her parents.