Family joins Bothell mother, 72, in baptism

Published 10:16 pm Friday, May 15, 2009

Constance Webster was presented with a Bible in 1947 for good attendance at Sunday school.

Throughout the years, she recorded marriages, children’s births and other family milestones.

One area that remained blank on the inside jacket of her Bible was under the word “baptism.” Webster hadn’t managed to get to that. She was busy working two jobs and raising kids, and didn’t go to church as much as she would have liked.

But Webster remedied that long-awaited wish on April 19 when she was baptized at North Creek Country Church in Bothell.

“It took me 72 years to get baptized,” Webster said.

When her family heard what Webster was planning, some of them decided to be baptized at the same time.

With son William Ewing, daughter-in-law Frances Ewing, grandson Morgunn Ewing and daughter Karen Everest, Webster stood before the congregation with her 1947 Bible under her arm and had water sprinkled on her head.

“It was really awesome,” Webster said.

When Webster told her eldest son about her plans, he wasn’t too surprised. William Ewing knew that his mother had been attending church with her sister. He wondered if he should get baptized too, but he had only been to North Creek Country Church once. When he was 10 or 11 years old, he had come close, very close.

“I recall a tub,” Ewing said. “Then they stopped because the church caught fire.”

Ewing felt that the fire may have been an omen and didn’t get baptized. He thought about doing it throughout the years, particularly when his family visited Hawaii, but didn’t follow through.

Then his mother shared her wish to be baptized, and Ewing felt it was time.

“I believe in God anyway,” Ewing said. “Here’s another opportunity for me.”

His son, Morgunn Ewing, decided to get baptized too, and his daughters witnessed the ceremony.

“It was overwhelming to me,” William Ewing said. “It felt good. I was really glad I did it.”

During the baptism, Pastor Burr did not dunk Webster or her family because she suffers from primary pulmonary hypertension. When she was diagnosed four years ago, she spent many months hospitalized. It was then that she realized how precious life is.

“It really brought it home,” Webster said. “I’m so grateful to be alive.”

Webster never takes life for granted and says she feels cleansed after being baptized at 72.

“I wanna go to heaven,” she said. “That’s about the only way you’ll get up there.”

Christina Harper: 425-339-3491, harper@heraldnet.com.