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Update 47 page 5.

... well, what "Thanksgiving" then?

We sent Bill Turnbull's letter "What Dedication?" to Paul Perkin and asked him if he wanted to reply:

Dear Sir,

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to reply.

Actually, I rather agree with the respondent. The model for 'dedication' biblically is Old Testament, rather than New, which must cause one to stop and ponder what exactly it is we are saying.

On the other hand, (a) it is 'Dedication' specifically that people are often requesting, and (b) 'Thanksgiving' is equally if not more inadequate.

Yes, parents are wanting to give thanks for the birth of their child, but they are expecting more than that - they are looking for the church's prayers and blessing - and for their own part many, though not all, are wanting to recognise that the life they have been entrusted to care for came not ultimately from themselves, is not 'theirs' to lord it over, but is a radically equal being to themselves, created by God.

Even if 'giving back to God' (the meaning of 'dedication') isn't quite right, the instinct is surely right and true, to attribute this life to God, not merely in origin, but also in present allegiance and in future destination?

At the beginning we want to acknowledge with Job that 'The Lord gave' and that He may 'take away' - indeed one day he certainly will, and the right response is 'Blessed be the name of the Lord' - grateful thanks, humble submission and responsible care, but not ownership of our children (a creeping attitude in a technological society which increasingly thinks of everything as manufactured by us, in this case 'making babies').

Yours sincerely

Rev'd Paul Perkin.

Editor's note:

The question of what the service is called has been discussed before (e.g. Update 44, p6), and in fact the pioneer service (in Christopher Byworth's Grove Booklet) was called "a service of Thanksgiving and Blessing"). It seems Common Worship did not see the importance of tying the service to its biblical roots, as it does not actually print Mark 10:13-16 in the book.

We've never yet had a convinced Baptist write to tell us of the positive motivations for "dedication" (as opposed to the reasons for not baptizing), and we'd welcome a contribution from this point of view.

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This web page was last updated on 16th May 2004.