The Godfather Part IV?

Last night I went to that Dave Matthews Band Movie with The General. Afterwards, The General asked / told me that he and his wife, Diane, (but mostly The General) would like me to be their son, Mason’s, Godfather. I consider it both an honor and a privilege to have been asked. I thought I had a past posting on the topic of what it means to be a god parent before, but I couldn’t find it. So I did a little research online which probably isn’t the most reliable source, but this is what I found.

Godparenting:

One of the Godparents often needs to be a practicing member of the faith into which the child is being baptized and they must be sufficiently well-connected to the family of the child to be able to exercise the responsibilities they undertake in the service. (Diane comes from an Armenia background and the baptism is taking place in the same Armenian Church in which The General and Diane were married. I can assure that I am not of the Armenian faith.)

When an infant is baptized he/she can't answer the questions for him/herself, so someone needs to answer on his/her behalf. (I can do that.)


After the ceremony, the role of the Godparents is to look after the child's religious path. The role of Godparent has become that of a "supporting friend" who assists the parents and takes a special interest in the child, but does not stand in for the parents or make up for any lacks in their care. (That all sounds good. I am happy to hear that I don't have to make up for that "lack in care", because that could be a rather large "lack".)

The best way to do this is to help make sure he/she gets to Church regularly. (I am going to go off on a big tangent here. I try to stay away from Religion and Politics, but let's get into religion. Am I religious? Yes. But I do have a some skepticism in religion. Is there a high power, an all knowing being? One who knows how many hairs are on my head? What if there isn't? Part of me believes that when we all die, it just fades to black and that is it. No heaven, no hell. There are a number of different religions, be it Lutheran, Catholic, Baptist, Armenia, etc but for the most part the story is the same, right? God, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit. Let's go a little further with it and head across the pond to the middle east. Remember those plans that flew into the World Trade Center. Didn't they do that for the glory of Allha? If there is a higher being, why would he want groups of people hating and killing each other. Maybe that is just the human element making their own interpretation.
My parents had / made me go to church every Sunday growing up. Looking back I am OK with that. Over that time I think I have heard all of the stories. After a while isn't everything just a repeat? Yes, you have the scripture readings. By now, haven't I heard them all, or if I haven't, have I heard all the ones that any church would use. I am sure there is some recycling going on. Here is the thing that really gets me, especially when people critizies the fact that I do not attend church regularily. You can go to church every week and you can give money to the church and be an usher or a sunday school teacher or elder, but if it isn't in your heart it doesn't mean a thing. As far as I am concerned, my god (which I will say I believe in, but not whole heartedly) doesn't listen to me only on Sunday mornings, my god doesn't keep track of how much money I give to the church. The times that I think of God most often is actually when I am working out. When I go for a run, or when I was in living in Eden, I would go for a bike ride through the rolling hills and the farm land with the sun setting. If you ask me that is where my God's church is. Go watch the sun rise sometime, you will feel closer to God than you will in any church. I think there are a couple people out there that are readers that are also hunters. I am sure at times when they go out in to the woods and they look around at nature, they feel in awe of all that God has created. That is of course before they raise their weapon to kill one of God's creatures. I think we all have our personal churches and for the most part, they aren't actually physical buildings. You want me to go on with the religion talk. Let's talk about communion. Yes, I know that it is a symbol of Jesus and his blood and body that he sacrified for us. That is great, but do we have to do it? It is a just a symbol. When you get right down to it, it is simply just wine and bread. Yes, it is a symbol of what he gave up for us to save our lives. But when you take a sip of the wine is that what you are thinking about? I know that there are people out there who go to church and take communion and the foremost thing on their minds at that time is their fantasy football lineup. Wasn't he also nailed to a cross? If you really want your head to be thinking about the sacrifice he made for us, try pounding a nail through your hand. I am sure you could careless about whether you should start Brett Favre or Arron Rodgers. You want to show your faith, their is your faith. Some of you may call my words here blasphemous. But that is the way I feel. Sorry Annie, I am sure you are reading this and your head is spinning around. Alright enough of my tangent back to being a Godparent.)

Setting an example by regular Church attendance and by being willing to take your godchild with you to worship is a great witness and a fine way to keep your oath as a Sponsor. (I don't know about taking Mason to church, but I will make it a point to engage the young lad in conversation to see what is going on inside his head.)

Questions to ask yourself before agreeing to be a Godparent
Are your views on religion, spirituality and morality similar to the child's parents? (The General and I had a discussion about religion last night, and I think it is fair to say that we have a common view on religion

Are you ready to help the parents of this child in their duty as Christian parents? One of the most important things to do is to build a relationship with your Godchild. Make time to see your godchild as regularly as you can. (I have been thinking about this one in regards to my other Godchildren. I see my nephews, Nick and Josh, on a fairly regular basis. But I don't get around to seeing Elery (Nate's son) as much as I should. Although I have been bugging Nate quite a bit to get over there to play ping pong. And the times I am over there, it seems Elery is always sleeping. I need to see Elery a little more.)

Do you have an interest in the child's well-being? Godparents find they only really begin to establish a relationship with their Godchild when he/she reaches teenage or beyond.

This was written on one of the websites the spoke of Godparenting: "A model Godparent I know holds a great event inviting all his Godchildren to his house at the same time every year on his birthday!" (No problem, every year all of my godchildren are invited to the Freeman Party.)