Baptism over Skype

      The baptism this past Sunday at St. Philip Parish in Northside, Cincinnati, featured the ancient symbols of water and anointing combined with the modern technology of Skype. Two parishioners were baptized but the Godparents of little Xavion were not able to be there in person due to some medical issues that had come up the week before. Not letting a little thing like distance get in the way of welcoming new members to the Christian community, the Vicar Rev. Debbie Gamble asked her tech savvy daughter Lindy to see if she could come up with a solution. The answer was Skype, an application that allows voice and video calls over the internet for free. The application was already set up at the Godparent's house, since they had been using it to talk to and see relatives in Europe, and Lindy was already using Skype with her friends, so it was simple to put together. Sunday morning found them with a few minor glitches, like not having audio from the Godparents, but with a little help from some visitors, all was fixed and we could all see and hear each other just fine.

  

 We all listened and watched in person at the parish, which meets at the Churches Active in Northside (CAIN) site, and Sally and Karl (the Godparents) could hear everything over the internet and see it on their computer screen "live". When their moment came, we all heard clearly as they said, "I will, with God's help." It was a 21^st Century way of saying that nothing can stand between God's love and all of God's children. Water and oil on one end of the line; pixels and clicks on the other, and two new members were brought into God's family.