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Dearly Beloved,

AND IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU!!!

Are you familiar with this song? This Whitney Houston song has always terrified me.

When I was a young teen, I used to enjoy listening to the radio, especially the Sunday night request hour. I liked hearing people I knew dedicate songs. But then something embarrassing happened. I was in 8th grade, and there was a girl in 7th grade who seemed to like me a lot. She called the radio station to dedicate a song to me. I felt mortified and embarrassed when the radio DJ announced, “This song is dedicated to Trevor Finstad, 'I Will Always Love You' by Whitney Houston.” Needless to say, I didn't hang out with her much after that. I'm also glad my parents didn't hear it! Haha.

But let me tell you about one dedication we are happy to be part of... baby/child dedication. One Christian ceremony that we celebrate at CPC is baby/child dedications.

Baby/child dedication is a symbolic ceremony that typically takes place soon after the birth of a child, but there are no age restrictions. This ceremony is a public statement by the parents that they will raise their children in the Christian faith and teach them about Jesus. It also involves the Church dedicating itself to supporting, praying, and helping to disciple the family. This ceremony does not imply salvation, and the specifics of the ceremony can vary from one church to another.

The concept of baby/child dedication can be found in the Bible. For example, in 1 Samuel 1:11, Hannah, who was unable to have children, promised to dedicate her child to God if she were to have a son. In Luke 2:22, Mary and Joseph took Jesus to the temple 40 days after his birth to dedicate him to the Lord.

Since taking on the role of Family Ministries leader at CPC, I have enjoyed conducting baby/child dedications. It brings me great joy to guide parents through this meaningful ceremony and everything it involves. Plus, who doesn't love babies? If this is something that you are interested in, please email me at trevor@cpclife.com.

Pastor Trevor