I Get a Message During a Church Service

Full transcript of the My True Ghost Stories episode “I Get a Message During a Church Service.” Listen to this episode.

When a family's joyous celebration takes an unexpected turn, a familiar presence makes itself known, delivering a message only on medium can reveal. Welcome to episode 27 of My True Ghost Stories. A friend of mine was trying to get back into the habit of going to church, and she thought that making a date with me for that Sunday could help her jumpstart her resolve to be a regular churchgoer. I was happy to oblige. It's more fun to go with somebody.

So we set a date for that Sunday. Meet me in front at 11.30 and we'll go in together. That was the plan. And knowing that I would be waiting outside in the cold was even more motivating for her to show up. I arrived first and I stood outside that Sunday at 11.30, watching the corner to see if my friend would arrive, checking my text to make sure she hadn't changed her mind.

And then I saw her walking around the corner right on time. Well, maybe a minute late, but I was impressed. We were early, the service starts at 11.45, and this particular congregation is one that tends to run in during the opening hymn. So 15 minutes before the service, it's usually pretty quiet. However, on that day, as we walked in, there was an excited bustling energy that we felt as soon as we entered.

From the back, we could see that most of the pews in the center of the church were already filled. And there was lots of low chatter moving around. And as we approached the center, we saw that everyone there was really dressed up. And this was not typical for this congregation. You know, I was wearing my usual jeans and sneakers as was my friend.

And we kept walking down the center aisle towards all the dressed up people, towards the front. I like to sit near the front. And when we reached the crowded pews in the center, I realized why it was so busy, so early, and why everyone was all dressed up. On the end of each pew in the center, near the baptismal font, was a sign with a last name. And at the end of each pew was someone holding a baby dressed in a white garment.

Oh, it's a baptism Sunday, I said. And it looked like there were about five babies getting baptized today. And these were all the families, and you could feel the joy. We passed the families, sat up front and settled in, the excited chatter continuing on behind us. And soon after that, the processional began as all the regular parishioners snuck in the door until seats toward the back.

The service went as usual, stand up, sit down, sing, read, sing again, stand up again. And today there were more baby sounds than usual, some crying, gurgling. But for the most part, the babies waiting for baptism were pretty quiet. And then in the middle of the service, the opening prayers for a baptism began, and the clergy headed for the baptismal font in the center of the church, near all those families, and those of us seated at the front turned around to watch the ceremony that was about to take place. The clergy began after some prayers by inviting the first family to approach the font.

And they do it one family at a time at my church, and they call the family as, well, the family of, you know, whatever the last name is, and then they say the baby's name. And while this was going on, I started to notice some ghostly movement going on in front of the family that was in the pew, in front of that center aisle that goes across the church, and they were to the right of the baptismal font, and they were directly behind me and my friend. I was looking past the people who were sitting in the pews between me and the center aisle, but I could definitely see a ghost darting around that waiting family. And this ghost was a relatively short, thin man with gray hair, and he was walking back and forth hurriedly in front of the family who were watching the first families baby get baptized. He was going back and forth really quickly and also over to the side of the pew where the mom was standing, holding the baby, and the spirit seemed concerned about something, like he was making sure of something, but I couldn't tell what.

Well, I looked away to watch the baptism that was going on because I wouldn't want to miss that. It's so joyful, and at my church, the congregation erupts into applause every time someone gets baptized and it gives me chills. I looked back at the family behind me, and the ghost was still there, pacing back and forth, looking for something, and then they invited the second family to the font. The second baptism took place, we all applauded, and it was time for the third family, the family behind me to come up, and the ghost, the spirit was still there, and they announced the baby's name. And after hearing the name, I got a message from the other side that this baby, the baby about to be baptized, whose name had just been announced, was named after someone, and that this pacing ghost was that person.

This baby had the same name as this spirit. The family after being called, the parents and the God parents walked up to the font, and the ghost followed, standing right next to the family when they arrived at the font. The clergy said the prayers, and it came time for the water to be poured over the baby's head for the baptism, and the ghost was now standing right next to the mom, and he seemed to be watching the whole thing intently. The mom who was holding this completely calm baby held him slightly out over the font, and the clergy held the vessel filled with water over the baby's head, and began gently pouring. The ghost standing directly next to the mom, and the second the water touched the baby's head, the ghost instantly disappeared.

The beautiful applause started, and I joined in, and as I clapped my hands, I thought about what I had just seen. Whoever this hovering ghost had been, it was obvious that it had been very, very important to him that this baptism happened. He had been pacing around the family with a determined air. He had followed them up to the font. He had stood right next to the mom holding the baby, and as soon as it was done, he was gone.

One last baby to be baptized remained after this one, and that baptism ended the same way with applause, smiles, and joy, even though this particular baby, this last baby, cried through the whole thing, which was actually just as cute as the quiet ones. There was a little bit left to the service after that, a hymn or two announcements, and then it was over. However, the energy that had been in the church before the start of the service remained after the final notes to the recessional hymn were played. But now, unlike before the service, not only were the families of the baptized babies lingering, taking photos, chatting, but members of the congregation were coming over to the families to congratulate them, and of course, to see the cute babies. Come with me, I said to my friend, as she was putting her hymn back in the rack, and she had, by the way, thoroughly enjoyed the service.

I have to talk to that mom back there, I said, heading back towards the family behind us, and my friend knows about the medium thing, so she had an idea of why we were headed over there. The mom was standing, holding the baby at the end of her pew, right by the sign with her family name and the baby's name, the name that I knew was also that ghost's name. The young mom was chatting with some people in front of her, holding her baby boy. I waited until she had finished her conversation, and then I introduced myself and my friend. I said, congratulations, I commented on how calm, her son had been through his baptism, and his absolute cuteness.

This kid was adorable in a tiny white suit with a bow tie. It was a nice conversation, and I got a good vibe from her, so I decided to plow ahead with telling her what I had seen. Right after talking about how cute her son is, I said, he's named after someone, right? And she looked delighted. Yes, she said, he's named after my grandfather, my mother's father, and also my two aunts, and she motioned towards some women who were standing further down her pew, talking to each other.

So I decided to really go for it. I told her, okay, I'm a medium. Do you believe in that kind of stuff? Oh, yes, she said, totally why? So I felt that I had permission right now to go ahead and tell her.

So I said, your grandfather, that your son is named after, he was here, and she stared at me wide eyed for a second, and I was looking back at her, hoping I hadn't said something wrong, but I figured since they'd named the baby after this man, they would be happy that he was there, so I waited for her to talk. And then finally, she said, oh my god, oh my god, he passed away a few years ago, and today is his birthday. I have to tell my aunt and my mom, thank you for telling me I can't believe this, and she seemed like she wanted to tell them right away because she was turning away from me as she thanked me, so I said, yes, yes, go go, it's fine, it's fine, I just wanted to tell you, I was scurried down the pew towards her family. The post-service atmosphere was so lively that day, all the socializing chatter, it was like a party. I wish it was always like that after church, people hanging out, not in a rush to get home.

I wanted to enjoy it, so my friend and I just sat down and a pew a little ways back behind that family, and she and I were hanging out, chatting, watching all the mingling going on in front of us. After a few minutes, a woman entered the pew in front of us. She walked down to stand in front of me and my friend, and she asked, are you Jennifer? I said, yes, I am, and she went on. She said, thank you so much for telling us that my father was here.

This is unbelievable. We can't even tell my other sister yet. She said, motioning to a woman, chatting with some people in the side aisle. She would be a basket case. We're trying to think of a good time to tell her.

Like after she's home, when she doesn't have to drive right afterwards. I just wanted to let you know how grateful we are. And I expressed my gratitude at being able to deliver messages like this, and I gave her some more details about what I had seen. I told her that the spirit of her father had seemed very intent on something, that he had been pacing around in front of the family during this service before the baptism, had accompanied the family up to the font, and had disappeared the second the water had touched the baby's head. So I told her, I guess it was very important to him to make sure his namesake got baptized.

Well, yes, that makes sense. She said sort of knowingly, and I'm sure there were some family dynamics there that she didn't want to elaborate on. And then she mentioned, your mother passed away a few years ago also. Oh, I said, she wasn't there. It was just the grandfather that was here.

Well, that also makes sense. She said, obviously with more family dynamics that she wasn't going to talk about. Anyway, she said, emotionally, thank you so much. This means the world to my family. Anytime, I said, and I did not hand her my business card.

It did not seem like the right thing to do. And they knew where to find me if they needed me. The crowd was starting to thin, and I was wishing that this after-party scene could have lasted a little longer. But I was hungry, and it was wrapping up naturally. You know, they weren't throwing anybody out, but people were putting on their coats and making their way to the exits.

We joined them, put on our coats, and headed out, and I don't remember what I did afterwards. If I headed straight home, if my friend and I had lunch at the restaurant across the street, I don't remember the details. But I do remember being so happy about delivering this message, and being able to give to this family an extra piece of joy to this already joyful occasion. The spirit of the man, they had named the baby after, had come to visit from the other side to participate. And that is my true tale of delivering an unexpected message with a positive outcome.

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