Baptism...

Baptism...  Last week, our neighbors invited us to the baptism of their son (Nic, photo at right), which took place this morning.  I'd never been to a baptism of any kind before, so the entire experience was new to me.  Debbie has been to several Catholic baptisms, but she tells me this was a completely different experience for her as well.

Nic's dad (Alan) educated us about what the expectations were for dress and general behavior.  I wore a dress shirt, slacks and a tie; Debbie a skirt – for both of us, basically alien costumes at this point (we wear jeans most of the time).  That's Debbie all dolled up at left; you don't get a photo of me :)

The baptism featured music and talks by family members, on (of course) religious themes.  There were several prayers, also by family members.  Alan dunked Nic in the baptismal font, with a very short ceremony.  Then there was a confirmation ceremony, marking the formal confirmation of Nic's membership in the church.  After that, a small army of family members plus us gathered at Nic's home for a celebratory luncheon (photos of that below).

We were flattered by the invitation – we've only known Nic's family for a few months, and of course we don't share their faith.  Though this was at it's heart a religious ceremony, there was also a big social component to it – and that, especially, we really appreciated.  We already know our neighbors here far better than we ever did in any of our homes in San Diego.

The luncheon featured three different homemade hearty soups (I had an Italian soup that was basically a spicy chowder with sausage), several breads, and an incredible variety of desserts.  Debbie had baked some of her signature double-dark chocolate, pecan-topped brownies – quite a few pieces of which disappeared immediately.  I didn't count the people there, but I think there were probably was 40 or so people there.  That food disappeared pretty quickly :)