Saturday, June 09, 2007

Baptism report

Twelve little Latinos were added to the body of Christ today in a ceremony that lasted an hour and a half. (I'll add pictures later.) The deacon who presided did a great job, catechizing the adults and urging them to be faithful to what Baptism means. He used a certain "call back" form of preaching, expecting the assembly to respond with as much power as he had used, and if the response was weak, he had them repeat the answers two or three times until they could THUNDER it back. As we were exiting the church, a quincenera was about to begin, so teens in matching formals were waiting--girls in the vestibule, boys still awkwardly milling about on the steps outside.
Interesting: before the baptisms, the Church was locked. As I approached, I saw two young women sitting on the railing while a third approached, spoke briefly with them and gave them some literature. I was near enough at that point to say my own "Good Morning," and the third woman quickly left. The literature? Watchtower. On my way home, I passed the Kingdom Hall, with its signage in English, Spanish and Polish.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Jehovah's Witnesses knocked on my door one Saturday morning at what I considered to be an obscene hour. I don't know if it was my disheveled appearance or my declaration that I was Roman Catholic, but they never returned
---harv681

Anonymous said...

The last time that I was asked to read the bible with the 2 Witnesses at my door I responded that I read my Douay version. "That's only natural" I was told. "It's supernatural" was my response. Lizie

Anonymous said...

When JW come to the door, my dad, who is a deacon, always invites them in. They are usually taken aback that he has a bible the coffee table topped with a wooden cross as a paperweight. There is an unlit candle beside it.

He usually gets them into a corner with questions about corporal works of mercy and other social justice issues. They often respond that they don't want to be involved in politics and then he gives them chapter and verse. They generally don't come back.