A Dedication and A Baptism

What a super great day! First of all, it is beautiful in Los Angeles – sunny with temps in the mid to high 70s. Love the shirtsleeve weather and hate to think about going back to rain and cold.

Today I had the very special privilege of dedicating Jeyanthi Marie Taylor. The place was Marina Christian Fellowship. The church is actually in Culver City and close to Marina Del Rey but for all practical purposes it is in LA. Korak has attended there for over 22 years, he and Jana met there, they were married there almost 16 years ago, and Josiah and Lilly were dedicated there. It is a great church – multi-ethnic, fun, lots of spirit, good teaching and preaching.

The dedication was during the second worship time after the singing and before the Bishop preached (more about that in a moment). I commented about baby dedications, read a couple scripture verses and then had Jana and Korak come forward with Jeyanthi. I told about her name, commenting about the Taylors (see the above paragraph), then telling that Marie is a family tradition for middle names for girls – there are at least 5 on the Taylor side and at least one on my side. Then Jeyanthi: it has various meanings in some of  the languages of India but the most common is “victorious.”

Next, I asked Korak and Jana some standard questions about raising Jeyanthi according God’s word. Then I asked Josiah and Lilly this question: “Josiah and Lilly, as big brother and big sister, will you do your very best to set a good example for Jeyanthi modeling what it means to be a Christian?”

Then the really fun part. I got to hold Jeyanthi for the actual dedication and I added my own blessing (which I also did for the other kids when they were dedicated). It is kind of special between Jeyanthi and me but since the entire congregation got to hear it, I’ll share it with you.

Jeyanthi Marie Taylor, we dedicate you to the Lord Jesus. May you, at an early age, come to know Jesus as your Lord and Savior. May you know victory as you journey through life; may you be fearless in the face of defeat; may you be able to fight spiritual battles and be victorious in the power of the Holy Spirit. May you show compassion, patience, and a sense of humor. All these are meanings of your name. May you be one to say like the Psalm writer: “I wait quietly before God, for my victory comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation.” Then, eventually in the days of eternity, may you be one of those about whom Jesus says, “To everyone who is victorious I will give fruit from the tree of life in the paradise of God.”

To put a real solid exclamation point to this, I asked the Taylor and Mumau families to come and make a circle around them symbolic of the love and support that constantly surrounds them. There were quite a few Taylors there (aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandma) plus Ginger, Joyce and I. Then I asked the congregation to touch a hand to a shoulder – the ones in front touching one of the family and the others touching a person in front of them. This was symbolic of the connection we have in the church and an indication of acceptance of the concept that it takes a village (church) to raise a child. Pastor Kevin closed this part of the service with prayer.

At the conclusion of the worship time, Korak and I baptized Josiah. This was rather standard with some questions for Josiah, a prayer by Pastor Kevin and then the baptism. Only thing – the heater didn’t work so Josiah was in COLD water. Korak and I got to stand on the outside of the baptismal!

Between these two special events, one of the Free Methodist Bishops preached. We only have three and it seems they were meeting in Los Angels on some church business. A few weeks ago Kevin got an email asking if he would like to have Bishop David Kendall preach. This dedication and baptism was already planned but he couldn’t turn down a Bishop so… one of the highest executives in our church preached on this special day for the kids.

That was today. Ginger left this afternoon for home. We’ll be back there before the week is over. Last night Ginger and I took Josiah and Lilly to experience a Pirate’s Dinner Theater. The “set” was the bow of a pirate ship and the audience sat around in a semi-circle at narrow tables being served our food. The pirate cast had a good show and the food was pretty good, too. It was expensive but done very well. We all had a good time.

Jeyanthi is doing well. She has regained the weight she lost right after birth. Jana is healing nicely and feeling better everyday. I have to keep bragging, so here are a few more pictures.

Can you guess whose feet?

The dedication

Baptism

Good night, all.