The vows we take . . .

Dear Friends in Christ -

Vows. Most of us have taken some. The marriage vows are the ones we remember most because our spouse is front-and-center present in our daily life. But before that, most of us took baptismal vows. Or they were taken on our behalf. Do you ever think about those?

I have to confess that I hadn't thought of them for a long time. A couple of months ago, one of my clergy friends mentioned that she was making a special effort to focus on living her vows - marriage, baptism, and ordination. "Yikes!," I thought, "I can't even remember mine!

Basically, my ordination vows were/are an extension and deepening of the baptismal vows we all took . . .

. . . to believe in God - Father, Son and Holy Spirit . . .
. . . to go to church . . .
. . . to resist evil and when we mess up, repent and start over . . .
. . . to proclaim good news . . .
. . . to seek and serve Christ in all persons . . .
. . . to strive for justice and peace and respect the dignity of every human being.

Ordination vows are an extension of these - with an emphasis on being a wholesome example and proclaiming the Good News.

This week, I'm going away to "clergy boot camp" to think and pray and work toward making sure my life is rooted in the keeping of these vows. For my good. For the good of my family and friends and church. For God's glory.

Faithfully,
Janet+

PS - Please pray for me!!!!!!!