Leo's Christening

Leo's christening was yesterday and it was a great day. Yes, there was lots to get anxious about (guests arriving, buffet arriving, getting tables and chairs out, finding highchairs then working out how they get up, making sure Leo is fed, worrying about when he's going to nap, then have him fall asleep during the service and while being passed round various family members!), but everything went very smoothly and it was a very special day. The service was lovely, especially as there were so many children around - Zachary had a great time running from relative to relative and dancing with 2 of his girlfriends in the aisle during the hymns!

My mum and her husband were up in the area from Thursday, my dad and his wife from Saturday and also my sister and her family staying with us Saturday night. So it was busy and hectic but so good. And the advantage of having a large family - people to help clear tables and put things away afterwards. Leo's Godfathers (!) in particular were brilliant!

I am a Christian, so having Leo christened is an important step for me. Leigh isn't, but he is very supportive of my faith and was happy for him to be christened, for which I am very thankful. For me, it is a public welcoming of Leo into the life and love of the church, both spiritually and as part of the particular church family I have chosen to be a member of in Long Eaton at Trinity Methodist. My view is very much that Leo will have the freedom to make up his own mind as he gets older as to whether he wishes to become a Christian or not, but I feel it is important that as I have faith, he also has the opportunity to experience it for himself. I hope it will be a positive thing for him and I will certainly do my best to make sure it is, but eventually he will need to decide for himself.

I feel that the christening service is therefore a declaration of our love as parents for Leo, and of God's love for him, and an opportunity for us, and the people we have chosen as Godparents to make promises of support to him, rather than making promises for him.

I've finished - it's safe to look again!