This is possibly the most adorable thing I have ever photographed.
© 2011 by The York Dispatch. Assisted by the child's great-grandmother Ruby Olson, Rev. Mke Langford performs the sacrament of holy baptism via a seashell upon a still-asleep 10-month-old Takoda Allen Schultz on Sunday, May 1, 2011, at Messiah United Methodist Church. Gage Schultz and Lauren Kelley, of York City, had their son Takoda receive the sacrament of holy baptism. Kelley, a member of the Native American tribe Haliwa-Saponi, had the child dressed in his grass-dance regalia for the occasion.
© 2011 by The York Dispatch. Lauren Kelley, of York City, holds her newly-baptized 10-month-old son Takoda Allen Schultz during the final blessings on Sunday, May 1, 2011, at Messiah United Methodist Church.
Words and Light 
These are beautiful pictures. The child is gorgeous. However, he should have been dedicated instead of baptized. Baptism is for people who want to say they have chosen to be identified with Messiah’s death and resurrection. May the parents and the child be blessed– but it is more important that Takoda choose for himself to be a follower of Messiah one day than that he rely on a religious rite to give him any identity. Originally, immersion was always done for adults who were turning from sin to righteousness. Sometimes traditions get started which don’t reflect their original intent. If this had been a baby dedication (instead of baptism), I couldn’t agree more that it is fitting and beautiful.
[…] I’ve already written a bit about one reason why I love York: It’s old and beautiful, and it has old, beautiful churches. Plenty of them, in fact. […]