A Muddy Mucky Baptism
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"A Muddy Mucky Baptism" by Frank Ramirez
* * * * * * * *
A Muddy Mucky Baptism
Frank Ramirez
Acts 10:34-43
"... All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name."
-- Acts 10:43
There are many different ways to perform the rite of baptism and some of them are distinctive. Indeed, one of the Plain Peoples of Pennsylvania, sometimes known as Brethren, were better known by the name of Dunkers because they dunked new believers three times forward in a rushing river, once each in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
It was the practice of this group that first arrived in Colonial America in 1719 to perform these baptisms on Christmas Day. An elder would step out into the freezing river, taking with him a stick to first break up the ice and then to measure the depth of the water. Then one by one the prospective members would step out into the river, kneel down, and be immersed three times. Despite the freezing water the old Dunkers boasted that no one had ever taken sick from the experience.
Time marched on, and some city congregations found it was difficult to find a river to baptize in. And if they did find a river, it might not always be clean and pure.
In March of 1813 a group of Dunkers who had been part of the Germantown, Pennsylvania, congregation, sometimes called the "Mother Church" because it was the first one organized in America, organized themselves as a separate congregation in Philadelphia. The congregation was a pioneer in many things. The Philadelphia church was at the forefront in such things as the paid ministry, use of musical instruments in worship, Sunday schools, women in the pulpit, property insurance, and changes in the traditional plain garb by which the denomination was recognized and known.
This drove some of the elders in the denomination crazy, and they often brought charges of heresy in their councils. Yet it could be hard, sometimes, for the elders of the larger church to make their charges stick. When some objected that Philadelphia paid their minister, for instance, the congregation explained that while "one of the ministers had been paid, he had not been contracted to preach for a specified amount, so it could not be said that he was paid a 'salary.' "
But it was the innovation of putting an indoor baptistery that truly drew the ire of traditionalists who insisted that baptism could only take place outdoors in a river. There would be no longer any rushing water, to be sure, but there would also no longer be any breaking of the ice on cold winter days. How could the Philadelphia Dunkers justify this heresy, the elders demanded. The pastor, named J.P. Hetrick explained that the closest river was three miles away from the church and that it was very muddy. He then went on to describe a baptism involving three women. "Some of you," he said, "do not know, perhaps, what sort of mud that is. Well, if you will go into any of your barnyards around here, where the cows are kept over night, and, after a heavy rain, scrape up a pail full of the manure you find there, you will get a tolerable idea of what sort of mud that was..."
Pastor Hetrick told how it took a while for the mud to settle after the baptismal party waded into the river. And many times the muck did not stay settled. But continued to rise and coat those who were baptized.
"The first one we baptized came up the first time all right, but when she was immersed the third time, in the name of the Holy Spirit, it was not in water but in mud. And so all of the rest." The muck was so thick that one of the women required the help of two men to get her out. As far as Philadelphia was concerned, this settled the issue of indoor versus outdoor baptism.
There is much value in sticking to traditional forms. There is much value in following in the path of our ancestors in the faith. But in Acts 10:43 the apostle proclaimed "... that everyone who believes in (Jesus) receives forgiveness of sins through his name." It did not say everyone who jumps through all the hoops we set out will be saved. Nor does it specify a series of actions and forms we must perform in order to be saved. That's something important to be remembered when any of us are too focused on the method of performing a Christian rite instead of the Spirit who inspires us!
Frank Ramirez has served as a pastor for nearly 30 years in Church of the Brethren congregations in Los Angeles, California; Elkhart, Indiana; and Everett, Pennsylvania. A graduate of LaVerne College and Bethany Theological Seminary, Ramirez is the author of numerous books, articles, and short stories. His CSS titles include Partners in Healing, He Took a Towel, The Bee Attitudes, and three volumes of Lectionary Worship Aids.
*****************************************
StoryShare, January 9, 2011, issue.
Copyright 2011 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to the StoryShare service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons, in worship and classroom settings, in brief devotions, in radio spots, and as newsletter fillers. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to permissions@csspub.com or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 5450 N. Dixie Highway, Lima, Ohio 45807.
"A Muddy Mucky Baptism" by Frank Ramirez
* * * * * * * *
A Muddy Mucky Baptism
Frank Ramirez
Acts 10:34-43
"... All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name."
-- Acts 10:43
There are many different ways to perform the rite of baptism and some of them are distinctive. Indeed, one of the Plain Peoples of Pennsylvania, sometimes known as Brethren, were better known by the name of Dunkers because they dunked new believers three times forward in a rushing river, once each in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
It was the practice of this group that first arrived in Colonial America in 1719 to perform these baptisms on Christmas Day. An elder would step out into the freezing river, taking with him a stick to first break up the ice and then to measure the depth of the water. Then one by one the prospective members would step out into the river, kneel down, and be immersed three times. Despite the freezing water the old Dunkers boasted that no one had ever taken sick from the experience.
Time marched on, and some city congregations found it was difficult to find a river to baptize in. And if they did find a river, it might not always be clean and pure.
In March of 1813 a group of Dunkers who had been part of the Germantown, Pennsylvania, congregation, sometimes called the "Mother Church" because it was the first one organized in America, organized themselves as a separate congregation in Philadelphia. The congregation was a pioneer in many things. The Philadelphia church was at the forefront in such things as the paid ministry, use of musical instruments in worship, Sunday schools, women in the pulpit, property insurance, and changes in the traditional plain garb by which the denomination was recognized and known.
This drove some of the elders in the denomination crazy, and they often brought charges of heresy in their councils. Yet it could be hard, sometimes, for the elders of the larger church to make their charges stick. When some objected that Philadelphia paid their minister, for instance, the congregation explained that while "one of the ministers had been paid, he had not been contracted to preach for a specified amount, so it could not be said that he was paid a 'salary.' "
But it was the innovation of putting an indoor baptistery that truly drew the ire of traditionalists who insisted that baptism could only take place outdoors in a river. There would be no longer any rushing water, to be sure, but there would also no longer be any breaking of the ice on cold winter days. How could the Philadelphia Dunkers justify this heresy, the elders demanded. The pastor, named J.P. Hetrick explained that the closest river was three miles away from the church and that it was very muddy. He then went on to describe a baptism involving three women. "Some of you," he said, "do not know, perhaps, what sort of mud that is. Well, if you will go into any of your barnyards around here, where the cows are kept over night, and, after a heavy rain, scrape up a pail full of the manure you find there, you will get a tolerable idea of what sort of mud that was..."
Pastor Hetrick told how it took a while for the mud to settle after the baptismal party waded into the river. And many times the muck did not stay settled. But continued to rise and coat those who were baptized.
"The first one we baptized came up the first time all right, but when she was immersed the third time, in the name of the Holy Spirit, it was not in water but in mud. And so all of the rest." The muck was so thick that one of the women required the help of two men to get her out. As far as Philadelphia was concerned, this settled the issue of indoor versus outdoor baptism.
There is much value in sticking to traditional forms. There is much value in following in the path of our ancestors in the faith. But in Acts 10:43 the apostle proclaimed "... that everyone who believes in (Jesus) receives forgiveness of sins through his name." It did not say everyone who jumps through all the hoops we set out will be saved. Nor does it specify a series of actions and forms we must perform in order to be saved. That's something important to be remembered when any of us are too focused on the method of performing a Christian rite instead of the Spirit who inspires us!
Frank Ramirez has served as a pastor for nearly 30 years in Church of the Brethren congregations in Los Angeles, California; Elkhart, Indiana; and Everett, Pennsylvania. A graduate of LaVerne College and Bethany Theological Seminary, Ramirez is the author of numerous books, articles, and short stories. His CSS titles include Partners in Healing, He Took a Towel, The Bee Attitudes, and three volumes of Lectionary Worship Aids.
*****************************************
StoryShare, January 9, 2011, issue.
Copyright 2011 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to the StoryShare service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons, in worship and classroom settings, in brief devotions, in radio spots, and as newsletter fillers. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to permissions@csspub.com or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 5450 N. Dixie Highway, Lima, Ohio 45807.
