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Baptized children are encouraged
to receive communion at any age
at the discretion of their
parents. At Good Shepherd, many
infants and young children
receive the bread even though
they don’t have a cognitive
understanding of the meaning of
the sacrament. We support this
practice since it is part of our
teaching in the Episcopal Church
that children associate
receiving communion with being
full baptized members of the
Church. We also support parents’
decision to delay the reception
of communion until their
children are older.
This
year we will be offering a
communion instruction class as
part of our Sunday School
curriculum in the spring both
for children who have been in
the habit of receiving communion
from an early age and for those
who have not. Normally this
class is geared to children who
are at reading age. Whether
children receive the wine at
communion is up to the parents.
If a child does not receive the
wine, they are asked to cross
their arms over their chests to
signal to the chalice bearer
that they do not wish to partake
of the cup.
Baptisms are scheduled on
several Sundays throughout the
year that are liturgically
linked with this celebration
(e.g. 1st Sun. after
Epiphany/the Baptism of Jesus,
Easter Vigil, Pentecost Sunday
and All Saints Sunday (early
November). We also schedule a
mid-summer baptism on a date
that is convenient to the
families involved (usually late
July or early August).
Exceptions are sometimes made to
accommodate family members who
are traveling from overseas.
Baptisms normally take place
either at the 9 am or 11:15 am
service, but usually not at
both services on the same day.
We
operate on a “first come, first
served basis.” Whoever requests
a baptism first can choose which
Sunday service works best for
them. Normally, Fr. MacColl
meets for 90 minutes with the
parents and godparents on the
Saturday prior to the baptism,
at a time that is convenient to
the families. Please contact the
parish office if you wish to
schedule a baptism. Parents may
request that the baptism be
officiated by another Episcopal
priest or by one of our Deacons,
but this should be cleared with
the Rector. Private baptisms are
only scheduled
in unusual circumstances and
baptisms are not normally
scheduled during the season of
Lent.
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