There are three elements of welcoming a new child into the community that bring meaning to this rite of passage:

• One is introducing the child by name to the community.
• Another is covenanting with the child. When we speak to children about covenants we call them promises. What promises do the parents make with their child? What promises do grandparents make? Siblings? Godparents? Adults of the congregation? Children of the congregation? Promises will be different for each group, but in this rite of passage we all make promises to relate well with this new member of our community.
• The blessing part can be done in many ways, but in our Unitarian Universalist tradition we acknowledge that this child is already loved and blessed and we don't impart that upon them. Instead we name the bright light that they are, and we name our hopes for them to live a full and good life.