jonathan, originally uploaded by tara.aukerman.

Jonathan Ebersole was dedicated this past Sunday at our church. We don’t do the baby sprinkling thing at WP – instead, our pastor talks for a minute about and to the parents, then takes the baby. He talks directly to the baby and prays for him as he walks all the way around the sanctuary… it’s very, very personal, and very encouraging to the family and to the congregation.

This is the kind of thing I would like to see in more than just this one church – it lifts everyone’s spirits. And folks aren’t clambering over one another to see the baby all the way at the front – he gets walked right by where you’re sitting.

It was amazing – Jonathan started out really squirmy. But the pastor has a very deep voice, so in no time at all, the baby cuddled right under Pastor Tom’s chin and laid his head on his chest.