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

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on biblical and patristic texts and rites as a point of departure for ritual reforms. As it turned out,
however, both Churches were poised to look at the same sources but in answer to different
questions, with different points of departure, theological hermeneutics and methods. As a result,
the emergence of baptismal rites which share many common features in both communities,
nonetheless appear to reflect differing theological understandings, thus raising the question of the
extent to which theological divergences need further exploration.
4 f. 20 th century convergence in scholarship and ritual structures:
i. Reformed
In 1957, two streams of the Reformed church family, the Congregational Christian
Churches and the Evangelical and Reformed Church, came together to form the United Church
of Christ (UCC). This new church, bringing together both New England Congregationalism with
its Puritan heritage and German Reformed Protestantism with its Pietist heritage, has been
ecumenically oriented from the beginning. Though congregations are free to shape liturgical
forms at the local level, the UCC as a denomination has attended closely to the ecumenical
biblical and historical scholarship that led to the liturgical renewal movement of the 1960s and
1970s. This ecumenical commitment significantly shaped the order of baptism found in the 1986
Book of Worship. In fact, the Order of Baptism ―rests significantly on an ecumenical liturgical
consensus found in the 1982 Baptism, Eucharist, and Ministry (BEM) document more than on
any one former tradition.‖ xxii Though not required for use, this 1986 liturgical resource reflects
Reformed baptismal themes that have been central since the 16 th century: connection of baptism
with proclamation of the Word; focus on water as the central symbol of baptism xxiii ; ecclesial
setting of baptism; and connection of baptism with ongoing nurture, signified by congregational
promises and the option of including baptismal sponsors in the service.
In the 1960s, both the CRCNA and the RCA moved to revise their rites more
substantially than they had done ever before. The RCA in 1968 adopted revised rites after
several years of drafting and evaluation of provisional orders. xxiv The CRC, a few years later in
1976, adopted a similar revised order. xxv Both revised orders reflect similar concerns: to state
more clearly the biblical institution for baptism, to present more clearly the covenantal basis for
baptism, and to make more explicit the congregation‘s responsibility to nurture baptized
children. xxvi
Though the RCA published another alternate order for baptism in Worship the Lord in
1987, the next major revision of the baptismal forms came in 1994, for both the RCA and the
CRC. It is significant that in both cases, there is a single form or outline provided, which can be
used for either infant or adult baptism. There are no longer two separate rites. xxvii This is
particularly striking, since the Roman Catholic revisions of this era went in the opposite
direction, clarifying two different orders for infant and adult baptism. The CRC form is
explicitly intended to be more flexible, permitting local adaptation. Both of these recent
baptismal orders reflect awareness of the ecumenical liturgical movement, with greater attention
to the symbolic value of water and inclusion of ancient elements such as renunciations,
affirmations, and a prayer of thanksgiving over the water. At the same time, these new rites
show continuing Reformed sensibilities in their opening words of institution, their emphasis on
covenant, and the inclusion of promises by both parents/baptizands and congregation to nurture
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