Beloved: Baptism and the Trinity

Last Sunday, our Faith Formation classes focused on Baptism. The youngest students heard the story of Jesus’ Baptism then explored the sacrament of Baptism  in a concrete way by pouring water from a shell, hearing the special baptism words, and smelling the holy oils. They also enjoyed creating watercolor-and-salt dove artwork as a reminder of  the Holy Spirit.

The Level II students listened closely to Scripture and shared what they noticed about the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit revealed in Jesus’ Baptism. They brought the story to life through simple role play, then learned that a sacrament is an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace. They explored the signs of Baptism in a hands-on way by taking turns pouring water three times, listening for the special baptism words spoken over a person, and learning about the meaning of the holy oils as signs of strength, joy, and belonging to Christ. They finished with their own watercolor-and-salt dove art response to remember the Holy Spirit.

The Level III students connected last week’s Epiphany themes of light and revelation to the aeroponics project by checking their seedlings and completing the next “hidden growth” step, covering them to support strong root development in darkness. They then turned to the story of Jesus’ Baptism and used role play to explore how God revealed Jesus as the Beloved Son, with the Holy Spirit present like a dove and the Father’s voice speaking love, a glimpse of the Trinity at work. Building on that, they learned the historic meaning of anointing in Scripture, how kings and priests were anointed as a sign of being chosen and set apart, and how Jesus is “the Anointed One,” the Christ. Finally, they explored the distinct meaning of each baptismal oil, including the Oil of Catechumens for strength and readiness to follow Jesus and Sacred Chrism for joy, belonging, and being marked as Christ’s own.
Together, the students experienced Baptism as something we can see and touch through water, words, and oil, and as a living reminder that God calls each of us beloved.