You are God’s beloved, just as you are

…as [Thecla] finished the prayer, she turned and saw a great pit full of water and said, “Now it is time for me to wash.” And she threw herself in, saying, “In the name of Jesus Christ I baptize myself on the last day!”

• The Acts of Paul and Thecla 34

As they were going along the road, they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water! What is to prevent me from being baptized?”

• Acts 8: 36

I will never forget the day this past winter when a guy walked into Middle looking as wild as John the Baptist. We had never seen him before. He said he needed to be baptized right away. Can we help him please?

I ran upstairs and got Rev. Dr. Jacqui and a bowl full of water and together Rev. Jacqui and I baptized this young stranger. As Rev. Jacqui shared words of our visitor’s belovedness, tears streamed down his face. He said, “You must understand, I am gay. Can God still love me?” We assured him that that was so, that in fact he was made in God’s image, gay, gorgeous, just as he is. He said, “I have not lived a perfect life and still I do things I should not do.” We said, “Beloved, you are human. There will be times when you falter, but you have divinity in you and you are made to love. God is with you always, will never leave you, and will aid you daily to walk in the way of love.” We embraced. We shed tears together. He walked out the door and we have yet to see him again.

Yesterday I asked two friends what baptism means to them. It is such a gift that we get to make meaning in community.

One said, “With the rite of baptism the community initiates a beloved into the awareness of their true identity as a child of God and invites them to participate in the divine life through shared practices.”

The other said, “Your baptism is sufficient for your calling and a community of believers believes for you when you’re feeling wobbly.” I said, what do you mean by “sufficient for your calling”? And she said: You, just as you are, have what you need to be love, to spread love, to fulfill God’s dream for yourself.

I don’t know about you, but I am ready to get on with it - enough already with the wondering and worrying about purpose and preparedness and am-I-good-enoughness. We are born good to love and grow and baptism declares it so.

So today, whether you are at the beach having water poured on your precious head (we are meeting on the beach in front of the New York Aquarium at 11:45!) or at work and wishing you could get away, whether you are bedridden or thirty feet underground shooting through the tunnels of the New York City subways, know that you are God’s beloved. If you would like to ritualize this fact, give us a ring. We are here and ready to baptize, so that you know who you are, your true identity. You are God’s beloved, made of and for love.

Speaking of rings, we will be celebrating all who have ever been married at Middle, whether they remained so or not, and celebrating love broadly - love for lovers, for friends, for all God’s creatures, for life itself - at our first of two Homecoming worship celebrations, September 20th, 11.45 ET in person and online.

Put the date on your calendar and get ready to come home to love! Details to come!

Rev. Macky Alston

Executive Minister, Stewardship and Congregational Life

Middle Church

PS Join us online or in-person at the Freedom Rising Gathering, Oct. 23-25, 2026!

ALSO: Some of you have asked how you can support Betty-Jeanne and her family after the horrific fire that took their home. It will be a massive undertaking to make them whole again. Middle granted some funds on your behalf, and here is her Venmo (just skip the phone number verification). A GoFundMe is coming soon!