Hmmm

I received a call this morning from a mother who would like her 19-month old daughter baptized, preferably on Easter.

That's a very cool thing.  But this woman, to my knowledge, has never set foot inside our building.

I'm torn between immediately saying yes and baptizing the kid, trusting that the mother will raise her in a Christian community of some kind somewhere, and wanting to say, "Why now and what are your intentions?"  Because, honestly, my gut tells me that this is a family ritual being forced on the mother by her parents or grandparents in the name of family tradition and we'll never see this person again.

In some respects, baptisms are like weddings -- We do it because it's socially expected, not because we have any intention of being part of a church.

I set up an appointment to meet with the mother later this week, and we'll talk about it all.

And, truth be told, I really can't imagine refusing to do so; all I can do is hope that this is the first step to being part of the church.