Baby dedication for anna

Yesterday we had a child dedication service for my granddaughter Anna at our church. I don't know about anybody else, but I thought it was pretty special. Even though I forgot to get the carnation that we give to the parents, so I had to make a mad dash to the store during Sunday School.

The service is officially known as "The Presentation of Children For the Lord's Blessing." We do this rather than baptizing babies (we believe in believer's baptism). In this service, children are set apart for the Lord; and the congregation joins with the parents in pledging themselves to raising the child in a Christ-honoring way. According to our handbook:

• We believe in the presentation of children for the Lord's blessing.
• We believe children are a gift of God.
• We believe children are a part of the covenant community.
• We believe parents are responsible for the spiritual nurture of their children.
• We believe the congregation is responsible for the spiritual nurture of children presented for the Lord's blessing.
• We believe we ought to follow Jesus in ministering to children.

I was very happy to see several of Drew and Carrie's friends show up to give their support. They have some really great friends. It was also nice of Uncle Isaac to make a quick trip up for the occasion. We all went to Toscani's for pizza afterward to continue the celebration. It was a really nice time, if I do say so myself. I was especially happy that Anna was a perfect child while I held her also. Other than she ripped a big fart as soon as I took her from Carrie. But otherwise she just lay there and looked either at me or the ceiling fan. Perfect.

Here are a couple pics...

Me, Jane (holding Anna), Isaac, Carrie, Drew