On the 15th of January our congregation was blessed with baptising six candidates, all of whom have sought to give their lives to Christ. Significantly, the baptisms were the first baptisms in our new church, an emotional event, given the years our congregation has spent in the rental wilderness, waiting for our beautiful church to come to fruition. With every setback, many prayers were said, praying that the church’s completion would be expedited, and we could again have a functioning church for worship and evangelism. Importantly, and this is relevant to the baptisms, our font or baptismal pool, situated on the first floor of the church, is built into the stage (embedded), being flush with the floor. As you can see from the photo, it’s a decent size and is equipped to carry a significant amount of water, a rather weighty affair: afterall, it needs to be deep enough and wide enough for full immersion. A lot of structural reinforcement was needed, (yes, costly and did delay the completion date) to ensure that the font did not collapse onto the floor below, failing to withstand the weight of the water. Of course, the candidates were unaware that they were the first to test the builder’s engineering expertise.
Certainly, it’s appropriate that the font be given prominence in the church, that it is given pride of place, because this is where the baptismal candidates dedicate their lives to Christ, are born anew, becoming one with a community of believers and, specifically, a member of Werribee Seventh-Day Adventist Church. So it was on a Sabbath in summer that our six candidates Esther, Samantha, Enjoy, Nyagao, Victoria and Diesi were baptised by Pastor Nick in the name of the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. Pastor Danijela, along with elders Ben and Noe were assisting. After the baptisms, the candidates were presented with their baptismal certificate before delivering their testimonies, which were heartfelt stories about their journeys to find Christ. Importantly, each candidate was welcomed individually by the congregation, a congregation that prayed that the Holy Spirit will be with them on their Christian walk. Of course, the baptisms were a timely reminder for the congregation members and visitors to reflect on their own baptisms and their individual relationship with Christ. No doubt, witnessing such a momentous event in the lives of others, will have moved the unbaptised to consider beginning their Christian walk in earnest. One visitor was so moved by the experience that she was eager to be baptised immediately. The pastors will be preparing her for her own spiritual awakening in the not too distant future. The font is a permanent fixture; through the urging of the Holy Spirit, it awaits all comers, without prejudice, who believe in Christ.
After the service, the congregation and the newly baptised joined in partaking of a light lunch, a fitting conclusion to a most memorable day in the lives of our six seekers of Christ.
Robert Bryson
