A message from your Interim Rector 9/16/2026
Holy Water & Holy changes
In this season of “ordinary time”, the long green season between Pentecost Sunday and Christ the King Sunday, we hear scripture which challenges us to grow in spiritual maturity and to live active lives as disciples of Jesus Christ. This is the season which focuses on our baptismal promises.
Holy (blessed water) has been used as a sign of our baptism and a sign of God’s sacramental presence with us for many centuries. It is fairly common for blessed water to be in a small bowl or font at the entrance to the Nave so that people may touch the water, make the sign of the cross and offer a prayer of thanksgiving for the Holy Spirit’s dwelling with us and in us. It is meant to remind us of our baptismal vows and renew our commitment to discipleship.
In case you have not noticed the stand and large baptismal font/bowl in the back of the Nave between the doors, this is a reminder of our baptismal vows and our call to community. If you were wondering, each week the water is removed by the altar guild and replaced with fresh water which is blessed by the clergy prior to the first service on Sunday. You are invited to touch the blessed water and make the sign of the cross as you enter or leave as a reminder to yourself that you belong to God. St. Catherine’s is blessed to have the font by the clear glass wall where you will notice clear stones on the window representing drops of water. I like to think of it as a visible reminder that we are to live as if we are always splashing around in the waters of baptism evermore being made new as members of Christ’s body, the Church.
Like the sacraments of the church, blessed water at the entrance of the nave is simply one more tool you might use to remind yourself of God’s presence and your commitment to discipleship. It is our hope that you will find God in this place, that the Holy Spirit will equip and empower you and that you will find your discipleship strengthen so that you may live as Christ in the world. If you are interested in learning more about baptism for yourself or a child, just send me an email at interim@stcatherines.org and we can meet to talk more about this foundational sacrament of the Church.
Holy changes in our pattern of worship and in our personal devotions will often help us see a clearer vision of God’s call to service. Over the next few weeks we will, by the grace of God, bring into fellowship through baptism several people who want a closer walk with Christ. Our challenge is to be that faith community which embraces them and encourages them and supports them in their new life as a disciple of Jesus Christ. Holy change is happening all around us in physical ways we can see with our eyes and in spiritual ways that we can feel in our hearts. Be an active part of God’s great vision for St. Catherine’s in worship, ministry and service.
Mo Pat+
