Baby Dedication

We had a dedication ceremony for Orion today at the UU church in Thousand Oaks. It was a very nice service. I hadn't really thought too much about customizing it as I had seen services in the past that were just fine, but Betty made the offer so I started thinking about it. The symbols they already use are water and a rose, so that made me start thinking about including the elements. The water was already there and the rose could represent earth. In talking to Betty about fire she had the idea to start using a candle that could be used at every dedication. She mentioned they do the same thing for memorials and Ron had the idea that it should be the same candle - kindof a circle of life thing. Betty thought about it and ended up incorporating the idea. We also brought our own candle so Orion can have it to light as he grows. For air we decided to use the same feathers that had been used at our wedding. We called for the blessing of the East, South, West and North of intelligence, warmth, love and strength. I also found a poem that hadn't been used before by Rabinder Tagore:

When I bring you coloured toys, my child,
I understand why there is such a play of colours on clouds,
on water, and why flowers are painted in tints-
when I give coloured toys to you, my child.
When I sing to make you dance,
I truly know why there is music in leaves,
and why waves send their chorus of voices to the heart of the listening earth-
when I sing to make you dance.
When I bring sweet things to your greedy hands,
I know why there is honey in the cup of the flower,
and why fruits are secretly filled with sweet juice -
when I bring sweet things to your greedy hands.
When I kiss your face to make you smile, my darling,
I surely understand what pleasure streams from the sky in morning light,
and what delight the summer breeze brings to my body-
when I kiss you to make you smile.

Included in the ceremony were my parents and Ron's dad and sister. Ron's mom chose not to come for religious reasons I guess, but she came by the house later. My friend Taira and Ron's friend Andy were the godparents. We closed with a poem by Sophia Lyon Fahs, a wonderful woman who pioneered much of UU religious education:

And so the children come.
And so they have been coming.
Always in the same way they come -
Born of the seed of man and woman.
No angels herald their beginning,
No prophets predict their future courses,
No wise men see a star to point their way
To find the babe that may save [hu]mankind.
Yet each night a child is born is a holy night.
Fathers and Mothers -
Sitting beside their children's cribs -
Feel glory in the wondrous sight of a life beginning.
They ask: "When or how will this new life end?
Or will it ever end?"
Each night a child is born is a holy night.

After church we had everybody over for lunch. Thanks to Costco and Pavilions for making my day easy. I didn't make a thing - just bought a bunch of platters. I even had the tomatoes sliced for sandwiches! Overall a very nice day.