The church had been holding the baptismal service at Chapman Dam State Park for three years, but this was the first year that combined the renewal of wedding vows. The idea developed after member Steve Colvin lost the wedding ring his wife, Mindy, gave him 13 years ago.
When the couple replaced the ring, they asked pastor James Swanson II if he would bless the rings during a private ceremony. He thought a public ceremony would be better and suggested they renew their vows at the park – where the Colvins were first married.
During the service, the Colvins stood before the church, but other couples stood and faced each other to renew their own vows. The wedding vows were not the only ones renewed.
Three people re-affirmed their baptisms, and 12 people were baptized. One of the women baptized was not a member, but had watched the service from nearby on the beach. Swansons says the woman, in her early 20s, believed the baptism was a first step in renewing the faith commitment she made years before.
“It happens every year,” muses Swanson, who now brings extra baptismal certificates. One year, half a dozen onlookers asked to be baptized.
