One of the practices that Calvary Church followed for many years was a time for blessing those who had a birthday. At the end of the closing hymn on the final Sunday of the month, those who had a birthday sometime that month were invited to come forward to the front and receive a blessing from the pastor. I am not sure how far back it goes. I don’t know which pastor or pastors got it started. I am glad that it took hold. I looked forward to offering a personal word of blessing to those who came forward. I looked forward to it each month.
Well, as with many things disrupted by the pandemic, this practice was dropped. I was at a meeting with other clergy colleagues two weeks ago, and I mentioned this blessing of birthday practice in the conversation. Suddenly, several were quite interested in it and wanted to start doing something like this in their own congregation.
Starting this month, March, I will start up the practice once more. Those who wish to come forward will have the opportunity to have a word of blessing said to them. We won’t be checking for birth certificates or asking what year they were born. I may be looking for others to help with this practice. But I am already looking forward to this.
Grace and peace,
Pastor Steve