Elphaba Posted May 1, 2011 Report Share Posted May 1, 2011 I was riveted by the pictures in Taking the Plunge, of river baptisms taken in the South during the first half of the 20th Century. This photo is actually a picture postcard of a black child's baptism, which was apparently a popular item for whites to buy. The story is worth a read just to see what the purchaser wrote on the postcard.I thought this was beautiful: To see a person walk fully clothed into water, becoming heavy and vulnerable in nature, weighed down by corporeality — it’s an almost mythological sight, evoking Ophelia as much as Moses and Jesus. It is an act that immediately makes us think of drowning, just as the emergence of that same person walking slowly, drenched, gasping a little, up through the mud makes us thinks of survival. Of salvation. The river baptism, which needs little more than a body of water and a group of willing participants, is a simple act, but aesthetically, it’s a powerful one. From the spectator’s vantage, watching someone immersed backward — face, clothes, hair, and all, into a river — you can feel the catch in your own lungs, the terrifying bit of water in the nose, the mute roar of the river rushing in your ears. You could almost think you’re falling, too. Elphaba Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mightynancy Posted May 2, 2011 Report Share Posted May 2, 2011 I love that passage! Thanks for sharing it. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RipplecutBuddha Posted May 2, 2011 Report Share Posted May 2, 2011 fwiw, both my parents were baptized in a river...not the same river though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pam Posted May 2, 2011 Report Share Posted May 2, 2011 My dad was baptized in a lake. During the winter. In Alaska. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 2, 2011 Report Share Posted May 2, 2011 My son was baptized in the Atlantic Ocean while a hurricane brewed 50 miles out to sea... the water was up to his waist but he didn't have to fall backwards much because when the wave came, it crested above his head! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackmarch Posted May 2, 2011 Report Share Posted May 2, 2011 I had a couple cousins baptised in a river that was pretty much snowmelt runoff... luckily it was not winter tho.My son was baptized in the Atlantic Ocean while a hurricane brewed 50 miles out to sea... the water was up to his waist but he didn't have to fall backwards much because when the wave came, it crested above his head!wow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rameumptom Posted May 2, 2011 Report Share Posted May 2, 2011 I baptized a few in rivers on my mission in Bolivia. I also baptized in a small pool next to a dormant volcano, filled with water, called Lake Tarapaya. People still swim in the volcano, but are occasionally sucked under and scalded to death. You can see the small pool in the photo, where we baptized. For safety sake, there is (or at least was 30 years ago) a cable stretching across the lake for people to grab hold of in case of induction currents or whirlpools. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laureltree Posted May 2, 2011 Report Share Posted May 2, 2011 Thats awesome, thanks for sharing..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Backroads Posted May 2, 2011 Report Share Posted May 2, 2011 Absolutely lovely! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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