Tag: Baptismal Covenant

Infusing the sacred into daily life

“Today, Americans are cultivating spirituality by probing deeper dimensions of things they do each day, from prayer to exercise and volunteering.” (1)

One way to deepen spirituality being followed by many: volunteering. As part of the Sunday Morning Forum we seek to encourage each other to do what we can with who we are in the time we have, for the glory of God and the welfare of all God’s children and all of God’s creation. Consider:

Even volunteering is serving as a portal to higher things. Organizations that make up the Catholic Volunteer Network guide some 14,000 volunteers to reflect on vocation, suffering and poverty.

“It takes a little while to realize, ‘I might not cure AIDS, but I might be able comfort someone who’s dying, and it makes a world of difference to that one person,’ “ says Katie Mulembe, CVN’s membership and recruitment coordinator. “You realize, ‘That’s why I’m here. And that’s good enough.’ “ Read the entire post

In our Baptismal Covenant we have promised to seek and serve Christ and to strive for justice and peace in the world. Let us fulfill our promises to God and each other.

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(1) “Americans search for ways to infuse daily life with the sacred” by G. Jeffrey MacDonald, USA Today at http://tinyurl.com/4ch4rjl on 31 Jan 2011

The Apostles’ Creed

Listen to the Apostles’ Creed sung by a choir of Tongan youth in the Uniting Church Sydney Australia.

What is the Apostles’ Creed?

The Apostles’ Creed is the ancient creed of Baptism, it is used in the Church’s daily worship to recall our Baptismal Covenant.

An Outline of the Faith: The Book of Common Prayer, p. 852

The Apostles’ Creed

I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord.
He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit
and born of the Virgin Mary.
He suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried.
He descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again.
He ascended into heaven,
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.

For further reading and reflection

The Symbolum Apostolorum was developed between the second and ninth centuries. It is the most popular creed used in worship by Western Christians. Its central doctrines are those of the Trinity and God the Creator. It has been called the Creed of Creeds.
Legend has it that the Apostles wrote this creed on the tenth day after Christ’s ascension into heaven. That is not the case, though the name stuck. However, each of the doctrines found in the creed can be traced to statements current in the apostolic period. The earliest written version of the creed is perhaps the Interrogatory Creed of Hippolytus (ca. A.D. 215). The current form is first found in the writings of Caesarius of Arles (d 542).
The creed was apparently used as a summary of Christian doctrine for baptismal candidates in the churches of Rome. Hence it is also known as The Roman Symbol. As in Hippolytus’ version it was given in question and answer format with the baptismal candidates answering in the affirmative that they believed each statement.

Source: http://www.creeds.net/ancient/apostles.htm

Note: the link will take you to a page devoted to the Apostles’ Creed including additional links to the text of the creed in Latin and Greek, historical notes and much more

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