Baptism of the Loveys

By June 29, 2021

All children invited to bring their lovies to church this past Sunday for the Baptism of the Lovies, a beloved First tradition that is part of our Children’s Ministry’s Sacrament School, where children learn about our two main sacraments, special ceremonies that are different,  baptism and communion.

So many times in the church we say “remember your baptism and be thankful,” but the thing is, when we’re baptized int he United Methodist Church, we’re so young we can’t possibly remember it! “It’s an awful lot to ask children to remember something they can’t remember,” says Mister Mark Burrows, Director of Children’s Ministries. What we wanted to do was to give children something special as a way to understand at their level what baptism is all about.”

So Mister Mark Burrows and the FUMCFW Clergy takes this special time each year to help children understand what baptism is, what it means, and why it’s important to remember your baptism. We ask them to bring their loveys, which for a child is the most concrete of expressions of something dear to them (what parent hasn’t conducted a frantic search for a lost lovey so everyone can get a good night’s sleep?)

“We all have those loveys, that special blanket or stuffed animal that we love and hold onto because it is so special to us,” Mister Mark explains, also noting that this year was the first time to baptize a stuffed shark lovey, “and as much and as tightly as we hold onto our lovies, that’s how much God holds onto and loves you. And just like when our lovey is lost we turn the house upside down to find it, that’s what God will do when you feel lost. God will look for you until God finds you.”

And, for children who didn’t get the word about Baptism of the Loveys in advance, Mister Mark and his team made special fleece blankets available for baptism for children to then take home and wrap around their lovey.

“This is one of our cuter Sunday,” Mister Mark adds, “and one we haven’t gotten to do for a very long time.” We are so grateful to be able to continue this tradition of helping children connect more deeply with the idea of baptism and giving them something tangible to experience  — and remember!

Baptism of the Loveys in the Gathering

Baptism of the Loveys in Traditional Worship