Ask the chick getting baptized

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
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I have been giving this thread a lot of contemplation, because I realize there are many on this board that are atheist, agnostic or have other religious/irreligious beliefs that are different from my own.
I’m not looking to preach at or convert anyone. I would really really appreciate keeping any questions/comments in the thread respectful.

That being said, I am going to get baptized this Sunday (Pentecost) . This is something I’m been contemplating for awhile & I’m ready to take the plunge (pun intended)

Again, I try to be respectful of others of all faiths, so I would ask the same in return.

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river, pool, hot tub?

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The swimming pool at the Y, actually :slight_smile:

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Do you go under three times or just once?

Will you wear a robe, or other special garment? (I wore a white choir robe sort of thing over my clothes, but that was many years ago and they had a baptismal pool in the sanctuary of the church)

What denomination?

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As far as I know, I go under once.

I plan to wear shorts, a sports bra & a thick t-shirt. I’ll bring a dress & dry things to change into afterword, as there is a church service following.

I belong to the Church of God, International. It’s a is a seventh-day Sabbatarian Christian church.

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If it’s not too personal, why now? What was it that finally pushed you into doing this?

Were you baptized as a baby?

How old are you?

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How supportive (or not) are your family and friends regarding the baptism? Will you have a lot of people there with you? Is it typically a somber affair, or one that is light and celebratory?

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Had you been baptised previously in a different denomination? (Background info: some Churches accept anybody else’s Baptism as valid and do not accept re-baptism; others require that the believer be baptised in their Church)

Did you grow in another religion, this same one, or none?

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What are you converting from? Atheism, Judaism, another Christian denomination, or something else?

Are you converting because a friend/family member/significant other wants you to? Or was it a totally personal decision? If it was totally personal, what made you choose this particular religion?

Will you have to wear skirts all the time now? I’ve only ever known one pentecostal girl (from high school) and she wasn’t allowed to wear jeans. She wore jean skirts every day.

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While you’re there, take a course!

“Learn To Swim”.

Beyond that, I got nothin’.

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Congratulations, and God’s blessings on you.

My grandmother, pillar of her congregation, was an adult convert(Lutheran). She wasn’t baptized or confirmed until after she married my grandfather. The first church service she remembers attending was with him, after they were courting, on Christmas Eve, 1923, in a little Lutheran Church in McFarland, KS. Grandma said she was impressed by the Christmas tree, but didn’t understand a word of what was going on, as it was all in German!

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Some really good questions here. I’ll answer them one at a time.

Shakes:
I had, (for lack of a better word) an epiphany while I was attending a religious festival (The Feast of Tabernacles: more about that in a minute)

No, I was not baptized as a baby.

I am 33.

Asimovian: My family is very supportive, particularly my parents. there certainly hasn’t been any negative feedback from anybody. There probably will be a few folks there from Church, maybe most of them… As to the feel of the thing, I would say a little bit of both. It’s a big commitment, but it’s also a cause to rejoice.

**Nava **:
No, I have never been baptized. I grew up in a different organization, same denomination. I have never regularly attended any other church.

Rachelellogram:
I grew up in the denomination that I am joining. The thing is, I was non-practicing most of my adult life. I still believed in what I had been taught growing up, but I didn’t pay attention to a lot of it. This is a completely personal decision that I am doing for myself, matter of fact, it’s the other way 'round. My husband is getting baptized also, & he didn’t grow up in the church :slight_smile: I chose this church because I believe what they teach.
BTW Pentecost=/= Pentecostal. Lots of churches observe Pentecost. In our church it is part of a larger Holy Day cycle, of which the Feast of Tabernacles is one. You can read more about the Holy Days here.(That’s a wiki link, BTW)
So ,yeah, I can still wear pants :slight_smile:

**Bosda **:
I can already swim :stuck_out_tongue: besides, our pastor has promised to only kill me a little bit :slight_smile:

**Baker **:
Aww. hugs Thank you very much. This is more a renewal of my faith rather than a conversion, per se. But I am very glad I am doing it & it has helped me with a lot of things & been a very positive force in my life…

Thank you all for your thoughtful questions!

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Thanks for posting this. Just reading the title I thought “Ooh, she’s brave” - for posting, not for getting baptized.

My church doesn’t make any special observance of Pentecost but some recent Bible study has lead me to dig deeper into what it is and means.

Those aren’t questions and this is an “ask the…” thread…

Will being baptized change your role in your church (suddenly on committees, able to participate in services in a different way?)

Happy Baptism!

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Thanks so much for your support! hugs If you have questions about Pentecost, PM me, I’ll see if I can explain our observence.

I don’t really expect things to change very much right now. I help in the kitchen, I sing special music occasionally. I plan to kepp on doing those things :slight_smile: I’ll certainly be happy to serve in any way that I’m asked. Our congregation is very small ( only about 20-30 people). So there’s not a lot of “official” committees or anything like that.

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I’m pretty ignorant about religion, so please excuse me if my questions are dumb.

Why this particular church? I don’t understand the difference between Pentecostals, Lutherans, Anglicans, Baptists, etc. Are they fundamentally different or are they different ‘flavours’ of the same ‘dish’?

Also, do you believe that everyone not of your religion is going to hell? If not, is that in opposition to your church’s doctrine?

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Phreesh, I think those are excellent questions! Let me see if I can try to answer them!

This particular church observes the Seventh day Sabbath, & the Holy Days, & I share the views they teach about heaven, hell & God’s plan for mankind. Those are all things that make the church rather unique, & why I’ve never attended anyplace else.
I don’t know a whole lot about other types of Christian denominations. I assume they differ in relative points of Doctrine & theology.

I don’t believe that people go to hell when they die. I think that after this life people will be judged according to what knowledge they have/don’t have about God & will have an opportunity to learn more about Him, & have a chance to be reconciled to Him. Only those who refuse to obey God or are incorrigible end up in Hell. God takes no pleasure in punishing the wicked. I also don’t believe that Hell is an eternal torture chamber. This is pretty much in keeping with what our church teaches about Hell.

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janis_and_c0–question?

If you show up at baptism in SCUBA gear, do you go to Hell?

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janis_and_c0, do you believe that the actual immersion, ceremony, and whatever else it entails will change your body and/or mind in any detectable way? Undetectable way? If you say yes to either, could the same thing happen without the physical actions (say if you used flour instead of water)? If not, why not?

Are you making a distinction between this baptism event and casting a magic spell, like with amulets and chanting? If so, what is that distinction?

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Musicat, I don’t know what the teachings of the OP’s church says about water, but in the Episcopal Church it is an important symbol during the baptism. We pour it over the head however. How it’s administered is not important, just that it is. If someone came to our church from another denomination, having already been baptized, we’re like most Christians, once is enough.

http://www.bcponline.org/

The above link is to the Book of Common Prayer for the Episcopal Church. It includes the order for Baptism, the explanation for the administration of the water starts on page 306. And later in the book, in the catechism, Baptism is dealt with on page 858.

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Congratulations Pearl! I hope that your day is simply wonderful.