Christening

The day started a bit too early, with an unhappy R, but fortunately none of the other children seem to have been woken up, so we were able to go back to sleep peacefully until a more respectable hour 🙂
The morning went quite smoothly, considering how many people were trying to get ready at once; the extra space (and extra bathroom) at this house a definite advantage there 😉 Mamgu decided the apples needed using up, so raided the larder for some mincemeat which also needed using up and made a vegan mincemeat and apple cake (which smelt divine as it cooked and tasted just as good as it smelt!) while B, L and I peeled and grated carrots, toasted pine nuts and crushed garlic (or Daleks) to make carottes rapees.

Somehow we managed to get ourselves and all the necessary things into cars and to the church with plenty of time to spare and tempers pretty much intact. Cups were put out and cakes arranged, the urn put on and readings allocated and practised. It was lovely to see the church filling up with families (there are normally between 2 and 12 children there; today there must have been nearer 40!) and to have a chance to say hello to friends and family – although there were some I know I missed and many I only just managed to say hello to in passing.

The service was lovely. We had requested the old service form, but with a prayer from the new (will get Bob to type it in later) and an advantage of this was that it was typed out rather than needing people to find the right page in a worship book. J read the second set reading (about Jesus blessing the children) and did it beautifully – slow and clear – I was so proud 😀 A received a thorough wetting (I have never seen an infant so well and truly baptised!) but accepted it gracefully (I just wish I had had a camera handy to catch her expression at each splash!) and smiled at Robert as he took her round the church to introduce her. When the children left after the ceremony and the second hymn the church felt a little bare and the Sunday school leaders were almost overwhelmed but rallied gamely 🙂

I handed A to one of her new godmothers and nipped out during the last hymn to get tea and coffee made but was still caught out by the first thirsty (and speedy) members of the congregation. Fortunately one of the first was a good friend who didn’t mind being co-opted to help, so she (wo)manned the teapot while I made coffee and hordes of helpful children handed out cake (no ulterior motives there, I’m sure 😉 ). It was bedlam, but in a friendly way 😆

Eventually we got everything more or less cleared away and those who were left were invited to come along to the local godparents’ house for lunch. Lots of lovely food appeared (thank you to all who brought things 🙂 ) and the children had a whale of a time in the garden enjoying what will apparently be the last sunny day for a while. It was a lovely relaxed afternoon and we ended the day feeling shattered, but deeply blessed that we know so many special people and are lucky enough to call them friends :cheers:
I think leaving the mess at someone else’s house helps too 😉