Sprinkles....

A pony tailed Psychologist friend of mine told me while I was working as a Psychiatric RN with children and adolescents, that children should be exposed to some sort of Church. "It lets them know what to rebel against later in life". And it provides a moral compass as to what acceptable behavior is.

We've been going to a tiny Episcopal Church here in the Napa Valley. Our Priest is a woman, who often throws a bit of Feminist Flare into the liturgy. God is called a "She" quite often. And the Motto of the church is "Open Minds, Open Hearts". Frankly, this little Church very much enhances the community through their excellent Pre-School. Tolerant and Loving, they are. Even a Gnostic can find a home there. Or a Pipe Carrier.

I had taken Jazmine to Church a few weeks ago. Joni was ill and Kylie wanted to stay with Joni. During the service there was a baptism. Jazmine thought it would be fun to have water sprinkled on her, so she asked to be baptised. Jazzy's first couple years of life were spent with a meth-addicted Mother, running from weekly hotel to hotel, from State to State with a man who had warrants for his arrest and is in Prison right now. Suffice it to say there was no Church for Jazmine. Nor Kylie. Their Father has spent four years in prison for "Felony Menacing"; when a client wouldn't pay for his Meth, their Father took a chain saw to his Client's car.

So we honored Jazmine and Kylie's wishes and they were baptised last Sunday. This small Church had seen them grow up over the last four years. There wasn't a dry eye in the Church. Touching.


Rosemary is a wonderful Lady. She has been such a loving influence on the girls. And the girls asked for Rosemary and her husband, to be their Godparents. George and Rosemary are English and spent their working years in Asia, where George was a Banker with the Bank of Scotland. They had met Robert Mondavi (the wine mogul who recently passed on), and he invited them to retire in the Napa Valley. Friends with all the Pioneers of Napa Valley Wine. Grgich. Heitz. Very classy folks! And very down to Earth.

There is a tradition that I read someplace, that when a person is baptised, a Guardian Angel is assigned to you. Here are Jazzy and Kylie after the baptism. We all can use all the Unseen Help that is available to us...