The Baptism of Naomi & Elisha

When we first told our friend, Fleurange, that we were going to adopt a little girl from China, she immediately responded, “one more to love”. From the first steps that led to Naomi’s journey with us from Yangzhou, China, Barbara and I have been surrounded by a community of family and friends. They gave us strength through the process and what seemed like an eternity of waiting. Naomi and Elisha now belong to a ‘community’ of communities – the parish community, Barbara’s family, my family in France, as well as the community of people who adopt children from all around the world. Although these communities rarely meet, on the other hand, they are closely knit together beyond language and land. The baptism ritual symbolizes these ties.   

Our daughters, Naomi and Elisha, were adopted in China two years apart. We knew from the beginning that our children were God’s children, and that one day they would be baptized and enter a religious tradition. We also believed that baptism should not deny their own background and culture, so we started to gather music, vestments, pictures, and other materials that represented the baptism ritual, as well as the culture of Naomi and Elisha from China, and our backgrounds from France and Canada. Everything could not be included, so we chose the place where each symbol, gesture, and ritual would be most appropriate. Our pastor, Father Bourque, showed an extraordinary openness to the work and ideas that we brought to our daughters’ baptisms.

The Ceremony was held on a Sunday afternoon to accommodate family and friends who had to travel long distances to attend. All of the children in attendance entered the church first carrying flowers. Father Bourque was wearing a very creative and colourful Chinese vestment, completely constructed of hand-done silk thread work, that we had given him for the occasion. As each child was named in the ceremony, we presented Naomi and Elisha’s names along with the meaning of their names. We gave each of our daughters three names – first, a Biblical name rooted in tradition; second,  a  name  issued  from The  family;  and,  in  addi- tion, we kept their given Chinese name. Following the naming, each god-parent was asked to bless the children and pray for one gift, such as the gift of Peace or the gift of Joy. The baptism waters from China, Canada, and France, entered the church to a Hawaiin melody of battling waters. The waters were united to become one baptismal front. Each baptism was reinforced by a loud “Amen” from the community of 200 family and friends who witnessed the ceremony. As a sign of renewal and birth, Naomi and Elisha shed their Western clothing and donned white silk Chinese vestments.

The second movement of the baptism was less formal, more convivial. We left the sanctuary to gather around a glass of wine, in a room decorated with old Mennonite quilts. In response to the many questions we had received about our experience in China, we presented the story of Naomi’s adoption accompanied by a number of slides from Naomi and Elisha’s trips.

As we drew closer to “Baptism”, we had suddenly realized that the old Mennonite quilt that had been hanging in our kitchen in Milton, throughout our long “pregnancy” very much expressed our “advent”. A Mennonite quilt is issued from a community of tradition, searching for meaning. The meaning of the quilt is the ‘Log-Cabin design, and the pattern of the log cabin is a symbol of home. Our quilt was “hanging on” in our kitchen announcing a story we had not yet lived. A home is made of a family, and a family is made of children.

Naomi and Elisha have entered a community, with the traditional rite of passage through water. Although we could not have full immersion, the water bears an enormous symbol – the gift of life and of new life. Of particular meaning to us, Naomi and Elisha have been transformed through baptism, but the baptism has not changed who they are.    We waited for Naomi and Elisha for a long time, and their presence in our midst is very much a privilege. As our friend, Lorne Greenwood, told us, you do not really know how much love you hold in you until you have a child in your heart. Yes, now we are a family – four members, three countries, two languages, one faith.