Outdoor Baptisms: One of the American South's most symbolic religious traditions is making a comeback.
Pastor Dale Morgan
Photojournalist Jim Lo Scalzo published an intriguing set of images today, exploring the renewed interest in outdoor Baptisms. Churches are moving away from the sterile sanctuaries and heading for the great outdoors, according to his report for the European Pressphoto Agency.
Lo Scalzo says: One of the American South's most symbolic religious traditions is making a comeback. Outdoor baptisms, popularized in the 18th century by African slaves, had all but disappeared by the 1950s with the rise of indoor baptismal pools. Yet an increasing number of Baptist churches are forsaking the convenience and safety of these pools for nearby rivers, lakes and oceans. “It's a re-discovery,” says Gregory Hughes, Pastor of True Life Ministries, which holds an annual ocean baptism in St. Simon’s Island, Ga. “It's a way to embrace tradition while renewing our spirit.”
Jim Lo Scalzo / EPA
Christian youths attending an annual beach gathering called “A Closer Walk,” are baptized in the Atlantic Ocean in Wildwood, N.J. on July 22, 2011.
Jim Lo Scalzo / EPA
Members of True Life Ministries, a Baptist church near Atlanta, are baptized in the Atlantic Ocean during an event they called 'Baptism 2011: The Year of Rededication' at St. Simon's Island, Ga., on June 18, 2011.
Jim Lo Scalzo / EPA
The First Baptist Church of Richmond, Virginia, holds its
'2nd Annual River Baptism' in the James River in Henrico, Va.,
on Aug. 9, 2010.
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