Common Agreement on Mutual Recognition of Baptism - National ...

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The scriptural warrant, already present in the 16 th century rites, exemplifies the Reformed
concern for the centrality of the Word in connection with the sacrament. The stipulation that
baptism is to be done ―without additional ceremony‖ echoes the focus on water as the primary
symbolic element, signifying both God‘s grace of forgiveness and the giving of the Holy Spirit.
The admonition of the congregation signals the ecclesial setting so important to Reformed
baptismal understanding, and the exhortation to parents embodies the link between baptism and
ongoing nurture in the faith. Thus all of the major themes that drove the 16 th century reform
continued to shape baptismal practice in the Westminster Directory, even though there was a
move away from authorized liturgies and toward increased local freedom in liturgical practice.
In 1788, the newly formed Presbyterian Church in the United States adopted a revised
version of the Westminster Directory for Worship. xiii This version introduced two changes to the
1645 text. First, the American Directory added a chapter on integrating baptized children and
previously unbaptized persons into the communion of the church. This shows new attention to
the connection between baptism, catechesis, and the Lord‘s Supper, as well as growing
awareness of the possibility of adults presenting themselves for baptism. Previously unbaptized
persons were to be accepted following baptism and public profession of faith. Second, the
American version removed the detailed descriptions of prayers which had been in 1645 version,
so the description of the rite (though not necessarily the rite itself) was briefer than in the
original.
On the American frontier, baptism came to be associated with evangelical conversion,
especially during the second Great Awakening. American Reformed churches reacted to this
movement in various ways. Some (like New England Congregationalist Horace Bushnell in his
treatise Christian Nurture) strengthened their defense of infant baptism, arguing that faith is best
nurtured in the context of families rather than expecting sudden conversion. Bushnell and others
emphasized the connection between baptism and ongoing nurture, a theme that had been
prominent in Reformed baptismal practice since the 16 th century. However, with more adults
coming for baptism who had not been baptized as infants, Reformed churches were also
compelled to address the practice of adult baptism. This growing interest can be seen in several
19 th century Reformed liturgical publications (including Charles Shields‘ 1864 republication of
the 1661 Savoy Liturgy ―in agreement with the Directory for Public Worship,‖ xiv the 1868
Directory of the United Presbyterian Church of North America, xv and the 1894 PCUS Directory
for Worship xvi ).
In addition, the 19 th century saw increased interest in set forms for worship, perhaps in
response to freedom of the revival tradition and the minimalism of the 1788 Presbyterian
Directory. This movement is evident in the introduction of set baptismal forms in various
revisions of the Directory for Worship (the 1894 PCUS Directory xvii and the PCUSA
Directory xviii ), and also in the Mercersburg movement in the German Reformed church, a
predecessor tradition of the United Church of Christ. This movement, centered in the Reformed
seminary at Mercersburg, Pennsylvania, was led particularly by theologian John Williamson
Nevin. Though it did not have a broad effect on German Reformed church practice at the time,
Mercersburg represented a desire to claim a sacramental theology and practice more deeply
informed by both early and Reformation church sources. Furthermore, in the last half of the 20 th
century, the Mercersburg movement re-emerged as a significant influence on many Reformed
churches in this dialogue seeking to recover a deeper appreciation of liturgical forms and of the
centrality of the sacraments. xix
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