| What's Going On? A Crowd Gathers by the Water. |
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| May 09, 2008 |
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Last Sunday evening my fiance and I went for a stroll on Pass-A-Grille Beach, just south of St. Pete Beach. It's one of our favorite beaches in the area, and not just because it is close to our home. Pass-A-Grille is a relatively charming historic neighborhood with an excellent beach right across the street. After 8pm parking is free and there is a long stretch of beach to walk on.
On this particular evening, even before we had put our chairs down on the beach, we noticed a large crowd gathered down by the water a quarter-mile away, not far from the beach concession, the Seaside Grille. At first we wondered if perhaps a whale or dolphin or even a mermaid was stranded in the shallow water. That always draws a crowd. I looked through the zoom lens of my new camera, but still could not tell what was going on.
We began to walk rapidly in the direction of the crowd, not wanting to miss anything, and speculated on what could be happening. Is it possible someone had drowned? Or had a heart attack? But we saw no flashing lights, no emergency personnel.
Soon we gave up our game of speculation as we strode quickly in the direction of the crowd. I saw large speakers standing above the heads of the crowd. Now I knew it was some kind of event. But what? Then I heard the word "baptism" over the speakers.
Aha! It was a baptism being held right there on the beach. I think it is the first baptism at the beach I've ever seen. As we mingled with the crowd of all ages, orange-shirted members of the church with the words "Baptism Team" busied themselves with the business of baptizing. The orange shirts gave away their identity: "Pinellas Community Church." A happy group it was.
We had arrived just in time to see the dozen or so newly baptized church members pose for a group picture--in the water.
We were happy no one had drowned, but perhaps slightly disappointed that we weren't going to see a whale, or a mermaid, or something |
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| A crowd gathering by the water always draws attention. What's going on? |
| Credit: David McRee, VISIT FLORIDA Beaches Expert |
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