Today we are baptising one of our folk who will be received into membership tomorrow.  This is a little unusual, though hardly unique, and is the right thing for us to be doing.  This is not the unusualness to which I am alluding.  It is unusual (though I am sure not unique) in that minister, assistant and candidate are all women... and I am fairly confident it will be a first in the Baptist Union of Scotland.

It's funny (peculiar not ha ha) that for the most part our mental images of events in church life are with male leaders... if you look on line a baptism photos it is, by and large, men (with male assistants if they deign to have them) doing the dunking.  The other three baptisms I've conducted have all had male assitants (deliberately, and for diverse reasons) so this is a first for me.

We had a great time at our 'dry run' with lots of laughter, which we followed with tea and scones.  I pray that our candidate and all who participate today will have a wonderful, meaningful time.  I joking said to the candidate she's be able to walk on water afterwards - when the internal steps of the portable baptistry refused to sink it looked like my words might prove true!!  (Sorted now)

PS I agreed not to put ducks in the baptistry (after the service) this time but am still on the look out for an alternative!!