Sample child dedication
As done by Rev. Dan Harper at First Unitarian in New Bedford, Massachusetts.
The child dedication is normally a part of the regular worship service, and comes after the opening hymn and before the prayer/meditation, before children go off to Sunday school. If you would like to have your child dedicated at First Unitarian, we recommend that you attend at least two worship services first. Also, please talk with the minister as far in advance as possible to schedule a child dedication.
Introduction
We have set aside a time in our worship service this morning to welcome a new child to the world [if older child: ... to formally welcome a new child to this religious community]. Could the parents [and godparents] of Name of Child please come forward?
(Parents bring child to front of church.)
Opening words
Humanity is our responsibility, human beings are that part of the total universe that we can do something about.
Perhaps we cannot make heaven be so, but to our children we can give our love, our care, our respect.
--Kenneth Patton
Reading
(Chosen for the specific ceremony.)
Naming
(If the child is a baby, usually the minister would hold the child for the naming.)
Minister: What is the name of this child?
Parents give name of child.
Minister: ________________, we welcome you and we give you this name as yours forever.
You are unique. There is no one else like you in the entire world. Your parents and your family welcome you in all your uniqueness. We give you this rose, different from every other rose in the world, as a symbol of your uniqueness.
We welcome you to this community. Water is the stuff of life, water connects all living things, all of humanity. The rose is sipped in water to symbolize your essential connection with all of us in this community.
(Minister touches the rose to the child's forehead, and gives the rose to the child. At this point, minister would give a baby back to the parents to hold.)
Prayer
Let us join our hearts together in the spirit of prayer and meditation.
We give thanks for this new life that has come among us. Each new child brings us new hope for a new beginning. We see the great potential that lies in every human life, and we know this child will bring [his/her] unique gifts to humanity, if we help [him/her] to do so. May we recognize and nurture the unique gifts of this child. And through all the challenges and joys to come, may this child’s life be blessed with hope and courage and love.
Litany of dedication
Minister: ______________, we welcome you among us.
All: We give thanks for your new life, and for the new hope you bring.
Minister: We will appreciate your uniqueness, we will teach you and learn from you, we will love you and respect you.
Congregation [including godparents]: We will delight in your accomplishments, we will share in your sorrows, we will encourage you in every way as you grow into adulthood.
[Godparents: We promise to be always available for you and your parents in the journeys and adventures ahead, and we promise you our loving presence in your life.]
Parents: We, your parents, love you with all our hearts, and dedicate ourselves to do all that we can to share with you the beauty and the goodness of life.
All: We will support you and your parents through all the experiences of life.
Hymn
(Optional, and depending on the rest of the worship service. Possible hymns: #348 "Guide My Feet," #409 "Sleep, My Child," #1051, "We Are.")
Closing words
May the truth that sets us free,
And the hope that never dies,
And the love that casts out fear
Be with us now
Until the dayspring breaks,
And the shadows flee away.
This ceremony may be changed in dicussion with the minister.