Modern problems require modern solutions and that is what exactly this family in Minnesota did for their baby's baptism amid social distancing norms. With lockdown rules in place, the family did the ceremony with the paster baptising the baby with a water gun.
The photo of the paster holding a water gun aimed at the baby has been shared over 343,000 times on Facebook.
The couple, Mary and Kyle Nielsen, had reportedly scheduled a baptism for their two-month-old son Wesley James before the outbreak of the pandemic. But seeing the surge in cases and churches being closed, the family shelved the ceremony.
However, the family then decided to baptise the baby at home only. It was Mary Nielsen's brother who came up with the idea of squirt gun.
"When baptism day came, we did the real thing first of course, and then afterwards we made sure to do the picture of the pastor holding a water gun and my husband just held Wesley out there and made sure we got a good photo op of that," Mary was quoted as saying.
In a similar incident, a Roman Catholic priest in the Detroit area took aim at his parishioners in a bid to maintain social distancing during the coronavirus pandemic, using a squirt gun to shoot holy water.
Photos posted on social media by the St. Ambrose Church show the Rev. Tim Pelc shooting water into a car window as it stopped by the steps of the church on Easter. He wore a mask, face shield and rubber gloves as further precautions against spreading the coronavirus.
