UCA Celebrates Graduation with 38 Baptisms

By Makena Horton

UCC Communications Coordinator

The service was originally planned to baptize a few individuals that wanted their families to be present to witness their baptism that weekend. Upon witnessing their commitment, other students, staff members, parents and UCA alumni lined up to be baptized at that time.

More than two hours into what became nearly a three-and-a-half-hour baptismal service, Sid Hardy, chaplain and bible teacher at UCA, commented on how the blessings kept rolling in. “Today I’ve lost count,” said Hardy. “Every time I go back there, I think, ‘Okay, we’ve got three more left,’ and then I go back there, and there’s more than three left. It’s just multiplying.”

Families came up to the baptismal to get a close-up view as their loved ones publicly proclaimed their love for Christ, and the stage surrounding the baptismal was flooded with those that wanted to show support.

Clair Barrutia, volunteer dean of women, was among those who decided to get baptized during the service. Barrutia was previously a student at UCA and returned to serve as a dean following her graduation from Walla Walla University.

“God works in really mysterious ways,” shared Barrutia from inside the baptismal. “I told him to give me a sign tonight because I’ve been thinking about this for a while. I was like, ‘Oh, I’ll do it next year or something.’ Then Franny got up here, and she said, ‘why wait?’”

Barrutia echoed the sentiment, “Yeah, why wait when you’ve got today?”

In addition to the 38 individuals that stood up in their faith and were baptized that evening, many other lives were touched, including two younger children in the audience, who later shared with their family that they wanted to attend UCA for high school and to be baptized as well.

“Baptism is a witness,” Hardy shared with the crowd. “It is a witness of your life, it is a witness of your decision, of something that has already happened in your heart. Now you are doing this as a witness, and it’s exciting.”

For more information on Upper Columbia Academy and how to apply, see uccaa.org/apply.