Sample Readings

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May you live to love, and may you love - always

[Child] - today we officially welcome you. We wish you long life and much happiness.
May you face all challenges that come to you as a person of integrity,
May you continue to bring great joy to your parents, your grandparents, family, friends, and to all those who come to know you.
May beauty delight you and happiness uplift you,
May wonder fulfill you and love surround you.
May your step be steady and your arm be strong,
May your heart be peaceful and your word be true.
May you seek to learn, may you learn to live.
May you live to love, and may you love - always.

May All Your Wishes Come True

May all your wishes come true
May you always do for others, and let others do for you
May you build a ladder to the stars and climb on every rung
And may you stay forever young

May you grow to be righteous
May you grow up to be true
May you always know the truth, and see the light that's surrounding you
May you always be courageous, stand upright and be strong
And may you stay forever young

May your hands always be busy, and may your feet always be swift
May you have a strong foundation when he winds of change shift
May your heart always be joyful, and my your song always be sung
And may you stay forever young.

If children live with love around them

If children live with security, they learn to have faith;
If children live with approval, they learn to like themselves;
If children live with love around them, they learn to give love to the world.

Give us the spirit of the child

Give us the child who lives within - the child who trusts, the child who imagines, the child who sings, the child who receives without reservation, the child who gives without judgement.
Give us a child's eyes, that we may receive the beauty and freshness of this day like a sunrise.
Give us a child's ears, that we may hear the music of mythical times.
Give us a child's heart, that we may be filled with wonder and delight.
Give us a child's faith, that we may be cured of our cynicism.
Give us the spirit of the child, who is not afraid to need, who is not afraid to love.

Celebrating Life

We are glad to share the joy of these parents [PARENT] and [PARENT] With them we wonder at the miracle of life recreating itself. We promise to uphold them in the task of nurturing their child and dedicate ourselves to building a community in which the possibilities of their child's life may be fully realised. We speak their child's name [CHILD] honouring in him/her the rights and dignities of the human person.

Peace be to this house

Peace be to this house
And to all who dwell in it.
Peace be to them that enter
And to them that depart.

Boys…

Boys are found everywhere - on top of, underneath, inside of, climbing on, swinging from, running around, or jumping to.
Mothers love them,
little girls hate them,
older sisters and brothers tolerate them,
adults ignore them
and Heaven protects them.

Girls…

Little girls are the nicest things that happen to people.
They are born with a little bit of angel shine about them,
and though it wears thin sometimes,
there is always enough left to lasso your heart -
even when they are sitting in the mud,
or crying temperamental tears,
or parading up the street in mother's best clothes.

For the gift of a child

For the gift of a child, [CHILD] whose innocence and laughter keep the world young, we rejoice and give thanks. May this new life, which we have accepted into our community of ideals and friendship, receive abundantly the blessings of health, love, knowledge, and wisdom, and in her/his turn give back richly to the common heritage that endures from generation to generation. And for the gift of parenthood made to [PARENT] and [PARENT] we also give our thanks. may they and all parents everywhere give their children security and freedom and love, and may they be blessed with much joy, much laughter and much patience in the divine task of nurture.

Through Baby's Eyes

I didn't expect a brass band, with welcome mat unfurled.
To be on hand when I arrived, in this confusing world.
Nor did I expect a Doctor, to hold me by the feet,
then quickly turn me upside down, and spank my on the seat.

At first I wasn't quite prepared for this enormous place,
nor for the funny characters, that I would have to face.
But I soon learned to get my way, by looking sweet and shy.
And when I wanted to be held, to make a fuss and cry.

I've found it really doesn't take much difficult or guile,
to wrap them around my finger,
All I need to do - is smile.

A Child learns what he lives

If a child lives with criticism
he learns to condemn.
If a child lives with hostility
he learns to fight.
If a child lives with ridicule
he learns to be shy.
If a child lives with shame
he learns to feel guilt.

BUT,
If a child lives with tolerance
he learns to be patient.
If a child lives with encouragement
he learns confidence.
If a child lives with fairness
he learns justice.
If a child lives with security
he learns to have faith.
If a child lives with approval
he learns to like himself.
If a child lives with acceptance and friendship
he learns to find love in the world.

Your children are not your children [Author: Kahlil Gibran]

Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of life's longing for itself.
They come through you but not from you,
And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.
You may give them your love but not your thoughts,
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you.
For life goes not backward not tarries with yesterday.
You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth.
The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite, and bends you with might that the arrows may go swift and far.
Let your bending in the Archer's hand be for gladness;
For even as the Archer loves the arrow that flies, so the Archer also loves the bow that is stable.

And so the children come. [Author: Sophia Lyon Fahs]

And so the children come.
And so they have been coming.
Always in the same way they come -
Born of the seed of man and woman.
No angels herald their beginning,
No prophets predict their future courses,
No wise men see a star to point their way
To find the babe that may save [hu]mankind.
Yet each night a child is born is a holy night.
Fathers and Mothers -
Sitting beside their children's cribs -
Feel glory in the wondrous sight of a life beginning.
They ask: "When or how will this new life end?
Or will it ever end?"
Each night a child is born is a holy night.

Know you what it is to be a child? [Author: Francis Thompson and William Blake]

Know you what it is to be a child? ... It is to have a spirit yet streaming from the waters of baptism; it is to believe in love, to believe in loveliness, to believe in belief; it is to be so little that the elves can reach to whisper in your ear; it is to turn pumpkins into coaches, and mice into horses, lowness into loftiness, and nothing into everything, - for each child has a fairy god-mother in his/her own soul; it is to live in a nutshell and count yourself the king/queen of infinite space; it is: To see the World in a grain of sand, And a heaven in a wild flower, Hold infinity in the palm of your hand, And eternity in an hour.

Omaha Native American Blessing

Sun, Moon, Stars, all you that move in the heavens, hear us!
Into your midst has come a new life.
Make his/her path smooth, that he/she may reach the brow of the first hill!

Winds, Clouds, Rain, Mist, all you that move in the air, hear us!
Into your midst has come a new life.
Make his/her path smooth, that he/she may reach the brow of the second hill!

Hills, Valleys, Rivers, Lakes, Trees, Grasses, all you of the earth, hear us!
Into your midst has come a new life.
Make his/her path smooth, that he/she may reach the brow of the third hill!

Birds, great and small, that fly in the air,
Animals, great and small, that dwell in the forest,
Insects that creep among the grasses and burrow in the ground, hear us!
Into your midst has come a new life.
Make his/her path smooth, that he/she may reach the brow of the fourth hill!

All you of the heavens, all you of the air, all you of the earth, hear us!
Into your midst has come a new life.
Make his/her path smooth, then shall he/she travel beyond the four hills!

Declaration of the Rights of the Child

We owe to the child the best we have to give. This is what it says in the 'Declaration of the Rights of the Child', which was adopted unanimously on 20 November 1959 by the General assembly of the United Nations.

Children have rights:
The right to equality, regardless of race, colour, religion, sex and nationality
The right to healthy mental and physical development
The right to a name and nationality
The right to sufficient food, housing and medical care
The right to special care if handicapped
The right to love, understanding and care
The right to free education, play and recreation
The right to immediate aid in the event of disasters and emergencies
The right to protection from cruelty, neglect, and exploitation.
The right to protection from persecution and to an upbringing in the spirit
of [sisterhood], brotherhood and peace.

Tao Te Ching

Giving birth and nourishing,
having without possessing,
acting with no expectations,
leading and not trying to control:
this is the supreme virtue.

There is a song in man [Author: Spike Milligan]

There is a song in man
There is a song in woman
And that is the child's song.
When that song comes
There will be no words.
Do not ask where they are.
Just listen to the song.
Listen to it -
Learn it -
It is the greatest song of all.

May Beauty Delight You

May beauty delight you and happiness uplift you,
May wonder fulfill you and love surround you.
May your step be steady and your arm be strong,
May your heart be peaceful and your word be true.
May you seek to learn, may you learn to live.
May you live to love, and may you love - always

If children live with security, they learn to have faith;
If children live with approval,
they learn to like themselves;
If children live with love around them,
they learn to give love to the world.

Prayer Celebrating Life

For the gift of a child, [NAME] whose innocence and laughter keep the world young, we rejoice and give thanks. May this new life, which we have accepted into our community of ideals and friendship, receive abundantly the blessings of health, love, knowledge, and wisdom, and in her/his turn give back richly to the common heritage that endures from generation to generation. And for the gift of parenthood made to [PARENT] and [PARENT] we also give our thanks. May they and all parents everywhere give their children security, freedom and love, and may they be blessed with much joy, much laughter and much patience in the divine task of nurture. Amen

Prayer Celebrating Life (2)

Give us the spirit of the child.
Give us the child who lives within - the child who trusts, the child who imagines, the child who sings, the child who receives without reservation, the child who gives without judgement.
Give us a child's eyes, that we may receive the beauty and freshness of this day like a sunrise.
Give us a child's ears, that we may hear the music of mythical times.
Give us a child's heart, that we may be filled with wonder and delight.
Give us a child's faith, that we may be cured of our cynicism.
Give us the spirit of the child, who is not afraid to need, who is not afraid to love. Amen.

Prayer Celebrating Life (3)

We are glad to share the joy of these parents [PARENT] and [PARENT]. With them we wonder at the miracle of life recreating itself. We promise to uphold them in the task of nurturing their child and dedicate ourselves to building a community in which the possibilities of their child's life may be fully realised. We speak their child's name [CHILD] honouring in him/her the rights and dignities of the human person.

Prayer (4)

Heavenly Father, we praise you for this childs birth - surround him/her with your blessings that he/she may know your love, be protected from evil, and know your goodness all his/her days. May he/she learn to love all that is true, grow in wisdom and strength and, come through faith to the fullness of your Grace.

May God the Father of all bless these parents and godparents and give them grace to love and care for their child. May God give them wisdom, patience and faith, and help them to provide for this beloved childs needs.

Eternal Father, we thank you for the rich variety of the families you have created for us, and for the relationships which we see and enjoy within them. Help us to respect and learn from each other. We thank you too for love that binds the families that are here today, and ask your blessing on them.

Heavenly Father, whose blessed Son shared at Nazareth the life of an earthly home, bless the home of this child, may it provide shelter, warmth and security to the family and to all those who visit.

All this we ask in Jesus's name, Amen.

The Lord's Prayer

Our Father, who art in heaven
Hallowed be Thy name.
Thy kingdom come,
Thy will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
And forgive us our trespasses,
As we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation
But deliver us from evil,
For thine is the kingdom,
And the power, and the glory,
Forever and ever.
Amen

Blessing

The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious unto you. The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.

Remember O God your child [CHILD] that as this child grows in knowledge of your truth, may he/she be led to acknowledge your truth in they life.

And continue to bless O Lord the parents of this child, that they may be strengthened to keep the promises they have made, and so to live that their child may see in them what it is to live a good and sound life.

Continue to bless all in this home and any who enter. Amen

Blessing (2)

The Lord bless you and watch over you, the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious unto you, the Lord look kindly on you and give you peace. May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you always.

Blessing (3)

And now, to Him who is able to keep us from falling, and to present us faultless before Him; to the only wise God, our Saviour, be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ, our Lord, Amen.

At the Baptism

O God, our heavenly Father, grant that this child, as he/she grows in years, may also grow in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ, and that by the restraining and renewing influence of the Holy Spirit he/she may ever be a true child of thine, serving thee faithfully all of his/her days.

So guide and uphold the parents of this child that by giving care, wise counsel, and holy example, they may lead him/her into that life of faith whose strength is righteousness and whose fruit is everlasting joy and peace, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Benedicition

Honor thy parents, those that gave thee birth, and watched in tenderness thine earliest days, and trained thee up in youth, and loved in all. Honor, obey and love them; it shall fill their souls with holy joy, and shall bring down God's richest blessing on thee; and in days to come, thy children, it they're given, shall honor thee, and fill thy life with peace. (Author: Tyron Edwards)

Benedicition (2)

Blessed are you, our God, ruler of the universe, maker of heaven and earth, keeper of sky and sea. In your goodness you give us the sign of water. At the beginning your spirit was at work, brooding over the waters of creation's birth, breaking the water with the word of power, bringing forth life in all its fullness.

Over and over again you have shown your grace to us as water cleansing the earth at the flood , parting for the exodus at the Red Sea, flowing from the rock in the wilderness. In Jesus you promised that all who thirst could come to the living water.

Therefore, eternal and present God, We bless you for the water with which you bless us.
We pray that those who are given to the waters of life
Will live in your grace.
Send, O God, your Holy spirit upon us and upon this holy water, that all who are gathered under this sign, being one in Christ, may be nurtured By the bread of life.
Now to God be given all glory, praise, honour And might.
Blessed be God forever. Amen

Another Blessing

Remember O God your child [CHILD] that as he/she grows in knowledge of your truth, he/she may be led to acknowledge your truth in his life.

And continue to bless O Lord the parents of this child, that they may be strengthened to keep the promises they have made, and so to live that Patrick may see in them what it is to live a good and sound life.

Continue to bless all in this home and any who enter in. May their lives be full of peace and joy Amen

Mark's Gospel (Mark 10:13-15)

They brought children for Jesus to touch. The disciples rebuked them, but when Jesus saw them he was indignant and said to them, "Let the children come to me; do not try to stop them; for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you, whoever does not accept the kingdom of God like a child will never enter it." And he put his arms round them, and blessed them.

1 John 3: 1-2

Think of the love that the Father has lavished on us,
by letting us be called God's children;
and that is what we are.
My dear people, we are already the children of God
but what we are to be in the future
has not yet been revealed;
all we know is, that when it is revealed
we shall be like him
because we shall see him as he really is.

Religious Poem [Author: Carter Hayward]

In the beginning was God,
In the beginning the source of all that is,
In the beginning God yearning, God moaning,
God labouring, God giving birth, God rejoicing.
And God loved what she had made, and God said,
"It is good". And God knowing that all that is good is shared, held the earth tenderly in her arms.
God yearned for relationship. God longed to share the good earth.
And humanity was born to share the earth.

Religious Poem [Author: Sophia Lyon Fahs]

And so the children come.
And so they have been coming.
Always in the same way they come -
Born of the seed of man and woman.
No angels herald their beginning,
No prophets predict their future courses,
No wise men see a star to point their way
To find the babe that may save [hu]mankind.
Yet each night a child is born is a holy night.
Fathers and Mothers -
Sitting beside their children's cribs -
Feel glory in the wondrous sight of a life beginning.
They ask: "When or how will this new life end?
Or will it ever end?"
Each night a child is born is a holy night.