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Monday, July 5, 2010
July 4th, Baptism Sunday
11:36 AM | Posted by
TeamUfa
On Sunday, July 4th churches in America were holding their services, no doubt, with a little patriotic flavor. The nation was gearing up for an evening of fireworks displays and many hotdogs, hamburgers and other grilled meats were consumed. You may have even grilled some vegetables. It was Independence Day for Americans. In Ufa, Russia a very different yet no less worthy celebration was taking place. It was the Sunday designated to baptize new believers! I went to the service held by The House of Prayer church at 9 am on the banks of the Ufa river. It was a very good time of worship and a happy time as the congregation welcomed its new members into the fold. There are some similarities to what we experience in American churches and some differences. One thing to note is that baptism carries a lot of weight in Russia. Given the country’s history, it is easy to see why. It was not too long ago when being a baptized believer could mean harassment, imprisonment, exile, or death.
We all gathered on the bank of the river and dressed in white the 9 candidates stood behind a banner on which is written part of Mark 16:16 “Whoever believes and is baptized, will be saved...”
The first thing we did was sing a couple of hymns. Then a message was given by one of the men about the importance of your faith being seen by your works. After this the pastor waded out into the cold river until he was about waist deep.
One by one the candidates went out to meet him and were baptized. One interesting thing I noticed was that during the dialogue that took place with the pastor all the candidates in a loud, clear voice stated the same thing, “I believe!” This is a big moment. Again, it wasn’t too long ago when going to ceremonies like this was fraught with danger and they were done in the dead of night and every word was a whisper. After each baptism the crowd on the shore sang a few lines that translate roughly: You are being baptized in Christ, therefore be clothed in Christ.
Upon exiting the river the newly baptized member gets a towel and hurries to the tent to change clothes.
After all were baptized the pastor prayed a blessing over the newly baptized and that concluded the service. It was simple, yet special for all involved.
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1 comments:
Wow! Praise God. I wish that I could have been there to experience that. That first pic of the young girl about to go into the river with the pastor in the background was awesome! What a joy!
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