Making Our Way to Shore: A Celebration of Hebrew Naming and Baptism

Since 1991, members of the Jewish Catholic Couples Dialogue Group in Chicago have celebrated a combination Hebrew Baby Naming and Baptism ceremony as they welcome their children into the world, with the support and participation of a Catholic Priest and Reform Rabbi. These ceremonies are spiritual moments, created in the spirit of finding new pathways for interfaith families to share in their religious traditions. For some couples, their ceremony makes a statement about the religious identity of their child, either in one tradition or another. For others, it is an expression of thanks to God for new life and the wish to ask for God's blessing on their family. In either case, the celebration is an authentic manifestation of a Divine presence in their new family. In addition to the ceremony, this text includes an overview of the current literature regarding Catholic/Jewish families; a review of Hebrew Rites of Initiation as well as a short course on Catholic sacramentality and Baptism; commonly asked questions and answers facing Catholic Jewish couples; a lively conversation between a Rabbi and a Priest regarding rites of initiation; a resource section of books and websites and a closing chapter on topics of family faith formation.