wfn.org | UCC/Adult Baptism

[powellb@ucc.org]

Jan. 30, 1997
United Church of Christ       
W. Evan Golder
(216) 736-2218
E-mail:  goldere@ucc.org
On the World Wide Web:  http://www.ucc.org
                                                
[EDITORS:  The Christian sacrament of baptism has strong
historical connections to Lent and Easter.  We invite you to
use this release in your coverage of Lent, which for
Protestants and Roman Catholics begins this year on Wednesday,
Feb. 12.  Easter Sunday is March 30.]

Baptized adults speak of cleansing, joy, freedom from past

      CLEVELAND -- For Tara Greene of Chicago, it felt like a
cleansing.  For Scott Furukawa of Honolulu, it meant emulating
a ritual that Jesus had experienced.  For Eric and Cathy Catey
of Connecticut, it meant placing their faith and trust in
Jesus.  After it was over, Kim Wheeler of Cleveland felt free
of her past.
      The "it" is baptism.  Along with Holy Communion, it is
one of two sacraments in Protestant Christianity.
      What's notable about these people's stories is that
their baptisms occurred in the United Church of Christ, where
people can be baptized at any age -- but where infant baptism
is still the predominant practice.  Each of them made a
deliberate decision as an adult to be baptized.
      About 58,000 people have joined the 1.5-million-member
UCC in each of the last three years.  Of these, however, only
about 4,500 came as new Christians, seeking baptism along with
their membership.
      What these new members seem to share is a sense of
having lacked something.
      "Something was missing in my life for a long time," says
Furukawa, 42.  Raised a Buddhist, he was introduced to
Christianity by his wife.  His baptism, which occurred at
Honolulu's Central Union Church, United Church of Christ, is
"the start of something good as I grow in my relationship with
Jesus," he says.
      And how did Furukawa's Buddhist parents feel about this?
      "They're happy for me," he says.  "They felt that the
Buddhist religion didn't hold much meaning for me, and they're
happy that now I can find some peace of mind."  
      After 11 years of marriage, the Cateys, each 34, started
searching for more meaning.  "At first Cathy was a little more
enthusiastic about looking for a church," says Eric, "but soon
we both became equally enthusiastic."
      They did some research, analyzed what was basic to each
of them, and started visiting churches.  One of them was the
Congregational Church of Brookfield (Conn.), UCC.  "We felt
most connected to the Brookfield church," says Eric.  "It felt
like family, and a new member class was starting just as we
were ready."
      "We also liked it because of its diversity," he adds,
"both in people's personal beliefs and in the congregation."
      Diversity was high on Kim Wheeler's list of criteria as
she read about denominations in the library and interviewed
local pastors in their churches.  Since a brother-in-law is
gay, she asked how each congregation would welcome a gay
person.  
     "I wanted both of us to be comfortable if he came
to church with me," says Wheeler, 31.  After a short-but-
terrifying childhood experience in the Worldwide Church of
God, "I didn't want to go to a place that condemned other
people," she says.  Her study process led her to Cleveland's
Pilgrim Congregational Church, United Church of Christ, where
she was baptized and joined the church last fall.
      Central to baptism is the use of water.  Jesus was
baptized in the river Jordan and told his friends to baptize
others.  Many UCC churches "sprinkle" water on the believer's
forehead; the pastor may make the sign of the cross with the
water.
      Tara Greene, though, was baptized by immersion, along
with 34 others in the October 1996 baptism class at Chicago's
Trinity United Church of Christ.  An African-American
congregation, Trinity is the UCC's largest local church, with
more than 8,000 members.
      "Being baptized was a great feeling," remembers Greene,
for whom "things had gone downhill" after her grandmother's
death.  "I felt joyful; I hadn't felt that happy for a long
time."
      In Christian tradition and practice, baptism occurs only
once in a person's life, but it may occur at any age.
      Ted Harbaugh joined Park Congregational Church, United
Church of Christ, in Toledo, Ohio, in 1950 -- but never was
baptized.  In 1992, though, after years of weekly Christian
breakfast discussions with some friends, Harbaugh decided to
be baptized.  So, at age 79, he was.
      "Jesus believed baptism was very important," he
explains, "and I felt it could help me become a better
Christian.  I'm very thankful I did it."
      The United Church of Christ, with national offices in
Cleveland, has more than 6,100 congregations in the United
States and Puerto Rico.  It was formed by the 1957 union of
the Congregational Christian Churches and the Evangelical and
Reformed Church.
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