[Magdalen] Something cringe worthy...

[Roger Stokes]

On 22/05/2015 01:10, Lynn Ronkainen wrote:
> Roger - it is common here in the states to make the first half of the 
> service very baptismally oriented... following the Epistle/Gospel, and 
> going right into the baptism following Gospel, with the whole 
> congregation participating in the Rite, speaking for 'the people', 
> followed by the peace and into the liturgy of the table, with no 
> confession or creed before, having participated in the promises of the 
> Rite.

We have headed in the same direction with our Common Worship Baptism in 
the context of the Eucharist rite.  The official guidance is now that 
Baptism should be in the context of the main service so that the 
congregation is there to welcome the new member of the Church. A 
declining number of parishes cannot do that because of the number of 
baptism requests they get from non-attending parishioners - and canon 
law says we cannot refuse them.

Even where there are fewer requests and it is possible to do it in the 
main Eucharist families may well not engage with the sacrament - either 
of them.  Having said that I do value the way that the baptism now 
shapes the beginning, middle and end of the liturgy rather than simply 
being an intermezzo shoved into the middle of the Eucharist.

Roger