We welcome children into the world with a ceremony known as a child dedication. Through this ceremony, we dedicate children - infants and young children - to the highest purposes in life, and we dedicate ourselves as a religious community to actively support children and their families. When a family with older children becomes a part of the congregation, the older children can also be formally welcomed with a child dedication ceremony.

A typical child dedication takes place as a part of a regular worship service. The parents bring the child to the front of the sanctuary at a designated time in a regular Sunday worship service, and the minister presides over the ceremony.  The dedication ceremony is generally a celebration of the blessing of new life, an expression of the parents' hopes for their child, and a call to the parents and the congregation's members to lead and nurture the child's spiritual life as it grows.

Contact Reverend Nancy Shaffer at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it   for more information about child dedication at First Unitarian.

Adults are not dedicated (or baptized) when joining the Unitarian Universalist faith. The Membership section of this web site provides information on joining the congregation as an adult.