Baptism of Jesus (January 12th)

For those of you planning ahead...


*A beautiful poem about the water of baptism found at Baptism poem link. You might use it to open up a discussion with your youth on what baptism means to them. If there are youth who have been baptized in your group ask them what they know and/or remember about it. Did they wear special clothes? Did they receive gifts? Were there special words spoken? Who decided for them to be baptized – themselves? their parents? grandparents? others?

~You may also want to discuss with your youth and other ministry staff if applicable about exploring confirmation together. Not every youth may want to commit to confirming their baptismal vows in the end but it will be fun to learn more as a group. You may also have youth in your group that were never baptized as infants or children and now would be a great time to explore the possibilities of making such a commitment in their life as a Christian. If you don’t have enough youth to form a confirmation group in your church perhaps you could join with another congregation or two and share the leadership of the confirmation group. A great United Church confirmation resource based around the New Creed is Jesus 24/7 Youth: A Short Course in Christian Faith for the Questing Youth by David Bruce. It is available for purchase through the United Church Resource Distribution (UCRD) Jesus 24/7 Youth order link or you can borrow it from the Conference Library Jesus 24/7 Youth library link . It consists of 6 sessions (could connect with the six weeks of Lent beginning Feb. 17th?) or you could pick any that you think are appropriate and supplement with your own material. For more Confirmation ideas and resources contact Debbie Coss, Conference Youth Minister at dcoss@confmnwo.mb.ca or call (204) 782-8113.
* Just for You ~ What does the United Church believe about baptism? For a quick overview see here Baptism Beliefs link.

~Read more about the Jewish ritual – the mikvah - that may have been one of the foundational rituals for Jesus’ baptism at The Mikvah link .