Water
Water represents life. It recalls God as the giver and sustainer of life and the biblical image of Living Water.
Worship
Welcoming a Child Before God
In Celestial Church of Christ, this is commonly known as a Naming Ceremony; it may also be called a Christening.
The Naming Ceremony is an important occasion in the life of a child, family, and Church. It provides an opportunity to give thanks to God, formally give the child a name, and gather with the Church community in prayer and celebration. It is recognized among the Church's established services, with Luke 2:21–40 as its associated Scripture.
The ceremony is about more than announcing a name. It brings together dedication, prophecy, prayer, blessing, parental responsibility, and thanksgiving. The family brings the child before God and entrusts the child's life and future into His hands.
The eighth day carries biblical significance in the naming of Jesus.
Luke records, “And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his name was called JESUS” (Luke 2:21). Luke 2:22 onward then describes a later, separate event — Jesus' presentation at the Temple after the days of purification.
CCC observes the child's Naming Ceremony on the eighth day.
A child's arrival is received with gratitude to God. The Naming Ceremony brings family, ministers, prophets, and the congregation together around the child in a setting of prayer and thanksgiving.
The Naming Ceremony procession includes the assigned incense bearer, water/basin responsibility, the Prophet or Prophetess associated with the naming, the seven elders, the Choir, and the congregation, according to the established order.
Within Celestial Church of Christ, a child's name is understood as being given by the Spirit of the Lord.
This is the starting point for how a name comes to a child at the Naming Ceremony — a name received prophetically within the life of the Church, and then formally pronounced during the service.
Throughout Scripture, the naming of a child can be connected with divine purpose. John the Baptist's name was given before his birth — the angel told Zechariah, “Thou shalt call his name John,” and spoke also of the work John would accomplish (Luke 1:13). In Judges 13, Samson's mother received divine instruction concerning the child before his birth, including his consecration and future mission. Mary likewise received the name Jesus and revelation concerning His identity and purpose (Luke 1:30–33).
These biblical patterns help explain why CCC treats the Naming Ceremony as more than selecting an attractive name. Prayer is made concerning the child's life, calling, upbringing, and future.
Prophetic ministry holds an important place within the Naming Ceremony.
A designated Prophet or Prophetess seeks the direction of the Holy Spirit concerning the child. The message may include the spiritually revealed name or names, guidance concerning the child's life, instructions concerning upbringing, and matters entrusted to the parents.
The prophetic message may include guidance concerning the child's life, future, upbringing, and spiritual needs. Parents therefore receive not only blessing but responsibility. The message should be recorded carefully and handled under the spiritual oversight of the Shepherd.
This places responsibility upon the parents. The ceremony is not merely a celebration of a newborn. Parents are presenting the child before God and accepting responsibility to raise the child faithfully according to His direction.
Traditionally, a male child is associated with a Prophet carrying out the prophetic naming role, while a female child is associated with a Prophetess.
Where the corresponding Prophet or Prophetess is unavailable, accommodation may be made under the authorization of the Shepherd — for example, a Prophetess may spiritually perform the naming role for a male child while an authorized male physically carries the child.
The person carrying out the prophetic responsibility in the Naming Ceremony is not simply self-appointed.
The Shepherd, working with the appropriate prophetic leadership, authorizes the person responsible. A family may request a particular Prophet or Prophetess, but the service remains under the Shepherd's authorization.
The spiritually revealed name or names should be distinguished from additional names selected by the family.
Families may also give names according to family history, language, or cultural tradition. The number of spiritually revealed names may vary from child to child — what matters is that the message and names presented as spiritually revealed are handled carefully and faithfully.
Parents and family members have an important place in the Naming Ceremony, and it has become customary for grandparents to bring a name for the child as well.
Because a child's name carries real meaning for a family, this is a decision families are asked to weigh thoughtfully. Parents are free to keep the name given through prophecy, to use a name of their own choosing, or both — the choice, and its consequence, belongs to them.
The officiating minister leads the Naming Ceremony in a specific order: first pronouncing the name given through prophecy, then adding the name or names brought by the parents.
Families may include a name of their own choosing alongside the name given through prophecy. The officiating minister formally pronounces the names during the ceremony according to the established order of the service.
Where twins or triplets are being named, one and the same officiating minister carries out the Naming Ceremony for all of the children.
If a newborn has not yet been discharged from the hospital, the Shepherd and a prophet visit the baby there to administer the name. Water, salt, and honey are not applied at the hospital.
Once the baby is discharged, he or she is brought into the House of the Lord for the Naming Ceremony.
A child's hospitalization or medical condition never erases the significance of the eighth day. This provision exists so that a medically vulnerable newborn is never removed from necessary hospital care simply to satisfy the physical form of the ceremony.
In the Naming Ceremony, water, salt, and honey are applied, in that order.
Water represents life. It recalls God as the giver and sustainer of life and the biblical image of Living Water.
Salt represents preservation. Throughout Scripture, salt also carries associations of covenant, faithfulness, and preservation. The prayer is that the child's life will be preserved and established by God.
Honey represents sweetness, favor, joy, and blessing. The prayer is that the child's life will know the goodness and favor of God.
Water, salt, and honey are administered only in very small symbolic amounts as part of the ceremony — this is a liturgical sign, not infant-feeding practice.
White cube sugar also appears within the Naming Ceremony materials. Its whiteness represents purity; its sweetness represents joy and blessing; and its cube, solid form represents structure, stability, and an established foundation.
Seven elders participate prominently in the ceremony according to the Church's order.
Within Celestial spirituality, seven repeatedly carries the language of completeness and spiritual fullness. The sevenfold pattern also directs attention toward the sevenfold imagery of the Spirit found throughout Celestial worship.
Where the ceremony involves movement around the Naming Ceremony table seven times, this is understood as prayer for the child's journey through life under the guidance and protection of God.
Water and the seven lights also come together in the Naming Ceremony arrangement. The imagery recalls the opening words of Scripture, “And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters” (Genesis 1:2): water recalls life, and the seven lights recall the spiritual fullness represented elsewhere in Celestial worship. Together they create a powerful prayerful image as the Church asks for the presence, direction, and blessing of God over the child.
During the ceremony, the mother and father are publicly identified and participate in the thanksgiving of the service.
The mother chants seven Hallelujahs, the father chants seven Hallelujahs, and the congregation joins in the sevenfold praise according to the order of the ceremony — a celebratory and reverent moment of thanksgiving for the family.
Seven fruits form part of the Naming Ceremony arrangement according to the Church's order.
The fruits direct prayer toward fruitfulness, increase, multiplication, and blessing.
Deuteronomy 28:1–14 is read prayerfully over the child according to the Naming Ceremony tradition.
The passage contains blessings associated with obedience to God. Its use expresses the Church's prayer that the child will walk under God's direction and experience His blessing throughout life.
The Naming Ceremony is not only about what God will do for the child. It also places responsibility upon the parents.
A child requires teaching, discipline, prayer, example, protection, and spiritual formation. Where a prophetic instruction is given concerning the child, the parents have a responsibility to remember it and faithfully guide the child as he or she grows.
THE CHILD IS BLESSED,
AND THE PARENTS ARE ENTRUSTED WITH RESPONSIBILITY.
According to CCC practice, the mother does not enter the Sanctuary during the eighth-day Naming Ceremony.
She nevertheless remains an important participant in the occasion and is publicly recognized during the ceremony. Her later return to the Church occurs following the established period of purification.
The eighth-day Naming Ceremony and the mother's fortieth-day return are separate observances.
Naming Ceremony
Mother's return following the period of purification
After the Naming Ceremony, water from the ceremony may be taken home by the family and added to the child's bath water for a period following the service — traditionally around a week or longer depending on the circumstance.
Within pastoral practice, some of the Naming Ceremony water may also be prayerfully shared with women seeking the fruit of the womb. This is a traditional pastoral practice, not a formal written injunction.
The remaining candles associated with the Naming Ceremony are traditionally kept burning over the following seven days.
Like other services of the Church, the Naming Ceremony is conducted within an established order and approached with reverence.
The Naming Ceremony belongs to the worship life of the Church and is performed according to the order of Celestial Church of Christ. CCC Naming Ceremonies are conducted through the Church rather than simply replacing the ecclesiastical ceremony with a private household naming.
The exact time may vary according to the day, parish schedule, family circumstances, and other services taking place. The eighth day is the central timing requirement — not one universal hour of the day.
Because it often welcomes family and friends from outside the regular congregation, the Sanctuary is specially prepared, or sanctified, following the service — the same care given after Christmas, New Year, and Sabbath day services.
The circumstances surrounding a child's conception do not create a separate, inferior Naming Ceremony. Practices in which a parish deliberately hides or diminishes a child's ceremony reflect local preference rather than the Church's established order.
The Naming Ceremony is much more than the announcement of a baby's name.
A child is brought before God.
Prayer is offered.
Blessing is spoken.
Prophetic direction may be given.
Parents receive responsibility.
The congregation gives thanks.
And a new life is committed into the hands of the God who knew that child before birth.
The Naming Ceremony is an occasion for the Church to gather around a family, give thanks to God, and celebrate the life of a child.