Carolyn Alicia

When I was doing my CPE, I was on call one summer evening at a hospital in the Midwest. Early in the morning, I was awakened by a page to come baptize a baby who had been born too early and had died at birth. Her parents wanted her baptized, so she’d have a name.

I went up to their room, wondering what on earth I could possibly say. Mom was in bed, crying, and Dad was standing beside her, sobbing into a hospital washcloth. They were holding hands, and the baby, tiny, tiny and still, was swaddled in a blanket in Mom’s arms. They said they were Christians, and that they wanted to make sure that the child would have a name. They wanted a name to call her by, to refer to, to know. A nurse remained in the room the entire time, quietly standing beside the bed.

I assured them that their child was with God, that she was safe, and that she could be named. I named “Carolyn Alicia, child of God, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, one God, Mother of us all”. I spoke to her, as her parents listened, telling her she was loved, hoped for, looked forward to, and that her parents were sadly disappointed and grieved that she had so little time with them. I assured her that she remained in their hearts and their family, that they would remember her and call her by name, and would keep her close. I then prayed with the family and the nurse, asking for strength, patience, and comfort as they mourned and released their sadness, in time, to God.

The nurse followed me out of the room to tell me that she was impressed and comforted by the words used, and by the care offered. She said that most pastors and chaplains had a hard time with this kind of request.