Rev. Fields addresses Paul Rifkin before the baptism.
WAQUOIT – On Sunday, a glorious sunny afternoon, Paul Rifkin took a helicopter ride to get closer to God.
Earlier that day, the Reverend Nell Fields of Waquoit Congregational Church gently poured water, three scoops from a scallop shell, onto his head.
He smiled, a broad, beaming smile as a church-full of friends and family watched the 72-year-old get baptized.
The Venue
Rifkin, who was raised Jewish on Long Island, has over the past year found his spirituality through the historic little church in the village of Waquoit.
From the outside it looks like a fairy tale picture of a church: tall steeple, long green shutters, white-washed clapboard, a New England classic.
On the inside, Fields oversees a quiet revolution of conversion, using accessible sermons that use, for example, the characters of Woody and Buzz from the Pixar movie “Toy Story,” for a lesson in identity, souls and belonging.
The message resonated for Rifkin, who said his conversion came about a year ago. He had participated at the church’s Annual Village Day with a stint in the dunk tank. He was also honored that day as Citizen of the Year for Waquoit for his volunteerism.
The Reverend Nell Fields of Waquoit Congregational Church.
He attended the church the following week to thank the congregation. Fields gave a sermon about peace that Rifkin, a longtime peace activist, said touched him.
He returned to attend the service the following week. During that service, a parishioner, Elsie Jacobson, tapped him on the shoulder and said she recognized him from the dunk tank at Village Day.
He joked with her that his frequent emersions in the dunk tank was his baptism.
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