We took Naomi to Cornerstone for the first time last weekend - twice in one day. Richie and I have been attending this Christian church in San Francisco's Mission district for about 5 years now. I remember when I was pregnant, Naomi would be very active during the worship portion of the services. Whenever I would stand and clap to the music, she would dance along with me :) Since Naomi has been born, we continue to watch Ed Young and Joel Osteen on Sunday mornings, but afterward Richie goes to church by himself. He brings home a CD of the message for Mimi and I to listen to during the week.
On the morning of Saturday July 25th, we attended the child dedication which is a special time for the Cornerstone community to celebrate each child as a gift from God. During this ceremony, the pastor encourages and prays for the parents to raise their children to know God’s love. This event is not infant baptism or a christening. Cornerstone believes that when people are old enough to understand what it means to put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ as their personal Savior, they should have the opportunity to make that choice for themselves. A baby is not able to understand sin, forgiveness, the sacrifice our Savior made for us, and what it means to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. This event is really about the commitment as parents to lead their children into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ, so that as they get older, we are able to guide them and to help them understand what that means.
Richie and I decided that we wanted to check out the ceremony and how it was organized before dedicating Naomi. Pastor Marty was officiating the ceremony and he also happens to be the same pastor who re-baptized Richie and myself a couple of months after we got married. During the regular weekend services, it's rare to see a baby in the sanctuary because parents usually drop them off at the nursery upstairs beforehand. So seeing a dozen babies, not to mention the older siblings running around, was actually quite a pleasant site :) Naomi sat in her Daddy's lap the entire time and was so attentive to what was going on. It was extra special because the sisters of the Hanalani Ministry performed two hulas and spread the "Spirit of Aloha" :)
After the baby dedication ceremony, we visited Grandma and Grandpa in South City for the afternoon. Then we decided to go back to Cornerstone as a family to attend the Saturday evening service. This was the first time I've been back as well as Naomi's first time, too. We sat in the "cry room" on the second floor and watched the service from a large flat screen TV. I nursed Naomi prior to the service but she started getting fussy so I tried to give her a bottle with formula, but she just played with the nipple. She was getting antsy while we were sitting down, so Richie took her to the back of the room to stand up and sway. After a couple of loud yelps, I went back there and gave her a pacifier. I brought it "just in case" since we usually only use the binky in the car... glad that I did, because it worked like magic. Overall, it was a great experience. We're waiting for Naomi to get her second set of immunizations before dropping her off at the nursery to play so Mommy and Daddy can enjoy Cornerstone together again.
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