Old rite gets new welcome
By: DIANA LADDEN

HUDSON-Christ Church Episcopal is offering "open baptism" as part of its Easter Vigil service, Saturday, April 15, at 7:30 p.m. It's an unorthodox approach, because the only requirement for people wishing to be baptized is that they show up a half hour ahead of the ritual and join a relatively brief baptismal recitation.

The rector of Christ Church, Father John Perry, acknowledges that this type of baptism is a departure from Church practice, but he sees it as a gesture of welcome intertwined with one of the oldest and important events in the Episcopal Church, the Easter Vigil.

"We feel strongly that the church should do all it can do to remove any barriers, real or imagined, that keep people from finding and expressing spirituality in church," says Fr. Perry.
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