It's likely that next Sunday we'll return to in-person worship, either outdoors or indoors. This is good news, although virtual worship means that we can "go in church" at our convenience. This past Sunday we took advantage of an excellent forecast, including low wind speeds, to take our kayaks to Depot Lakes Conservation Area, a gem north of Kingston with one lake allowing camping on its islands and shores.
We wanted to paddle, which we were able to do with virtually no other boats on the lake. We also stopped at a vacant campsite (they were nearly all without campers) where we had our lunch and the first swim of the season. With all the hot weather of recent weeks the water was refreshing but not cold. There is something wonderfully Canadian about swimming in a lake with pine trees and granite in view.
I was grateful to the Creator as I called out "baptism!" to Ruth. There was a sense of the holy in our swim and it caused me to ponder Baptism, which is one of our two Protestant sacraments. Along the way many denominations lost much of the sense of the immersive, sensory experience which was Jesus' model for us. For too long we were virtually hydrophobic when it came to the use of water in baptism, although in the past forty years clergy have been encouraged to be more liberal in its use.
And of course most creatures are able to swim and even delight in water. This year we've seen an otter and beaver at this Depot Lake, at well as minks and muskrats. At our home we watch the robins and blue jays frolic in the bird baths of our back yard.
It's wonderful that we have a sacrament which connects us with Christ, with one another, and with all living things. Let the baptismal swims commence!
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