It was good to hear the keynote speaker -- Dr. Louis Weil -- at this year's "Epiphany West" conference come out strongly against so-called "open communion" (communion of the un-baptized). That was especially courageous here in California where the practice is becoming widespread.

Cautioning against "playing God at the altar rail" (meaning that he would never turn anyone away from communion), Dr. Weil nonetheless believes that this practice trivializes baptism and wonders why, after all the years reclaiming its centrality, we would now want to make it virtually optional.

The theme of this conference has been "Baptismal Water: Thicker Than Blood" and we have looked at baptism through a variety of lenses -- liturgical, ecumenical, and missional. Dr. Weil, of course, has taught generations of clergy and laity about the important rediscovery of a baptismal ecclesiology, the recovery of the Easter Vigil, and the use of the rich symbols in our liturgical life.

I am in absolute agreement with Louis Weil here. I am familiar with the "open table" of Jesus argument -- that he ate with outcasts and sinners and never turned anyone away, etc. However, I am unpersuaded that this is the same thing as the Eucharist and would encourage congregations really to invite the poor into their homes and parish halls for meals rather than believe that they have actually exercized hospitality by inviting the unbaptized to communion.