I was baptized as a Christian however I am definitely more spiritual than religious. This doesn't mean that I don't believe in God...just that I'm not sure what I believe but I do believe in a higher power.
My dilema is that I have a 9 month old daughter and I feel I should have her baptized, but without all the religious stuff. Is that possible? Would that even be considered a baptism or can I call it a blessing? I was thinking Naperville Settlement Chapel.
Has aonyone done this or have suggestions!?
Thanks in advance.
Many Protestant churches have a dedication to God ritual for babies. It is religious, tho. I'm not sure what you mean about baptism or blessing that's not religious. The very words, baptism and blessing, indicate God is involved. Their purpose is to acknowledge God in the baby's life.
What purpose are you wanting to fulfill?
I never understood the difference between spiritual and religious, to me they work together. Marda hit it on the head, baptism and blessing are religious and if you are going to a church THAT is religious no matter how you slice it. Maybe the feeling you are having that you should be getting her baptized is a little hint from God the direction you should be taking with your child and your life. This is not meant to be snarky or mean, listen to your inner self and trust in God to lead you. Best wishes to you and your little one.
Our church(baptist) does a dedication ceremony. It prays for the child and their journey and the congregation(anyone you invite) promises to assist the child as they learn about life and religion and to be there as a support(emotional, spiritual) as the child learns their life path to God. Baptism for our religion is done by someone who is old enough to have learned about God and wants to be cleansed of sins and give themselves to God. This being said I don't and have not attended church as an adult except intermittently, I was baptized as a teen. I think a small ceremony with friends and family to bless/dedicate/present to God your child is a beautiful thing. However don't do it if it is for the celebration factor snd not the blessing as I felt like I had been to 100's of christenings and gave a lot of gifts for these and felt left out but know I didn't need the ceremony to bring my child up spiritually. God is pleased anytime you go to him and it doesn't require ceremony or a priest or pastor.
As a former Catholic I had this same dilemna with my twins. I have since joined a Unitarian church which is spiritual without being full of dogma. They have a lovely child dedication ceremony which I participated in with my twins when they are 16 mos. old. It's simply a welcoming by the church community and a blessing of the child and I think is just what you are looking for. I go to the North Shore Unitarian Church in Deerfield, but there are others in the area you can check out online. I think they have this ceremony in Dec. and then again in the Spring. J.
I have the same question and seems like I have been searching forever did you find anything out that you like? ____@____.com
One option is to look up a Unity church (www.Unity.org) - they're spiritual but not religious and will work with you to create a ceremony that you're comfortable with.
