What's in a name?

When I meet someone I will often ask them how they got their name.

Names are important. They are part of our story. That's why at the Welcome Center and in The Welcome Church we try to learn each person's name. Not easy for those of us over fifty, but we do pretty well.

My own name is a variation of my mother's name. I am Violet and she is Viola. She wasn't crazy about her own name, but as her first born she wanted us linked in the naming. And she happened to like the flower, too.

When I was baptized, I was also given the name Mary. In the Roman Catholic tradition in which I grew up, you needed to be named after a Saint. You know, one that was canonized and recognized. Because there was no Saint Violet (and looks like I won't be the one to break that tradition !) I was given the middle name of Mary...pretty safe since there were several.

And then there was my Confirmation name. Catherine. Named after my Aunt Kitty who was my godmother. So by the time I was eight, my name was Violet Mary Catherine Cucciniello.

I kept that name even after I got married...until the IRS made it very difficult for me to just stop there; so I added my husband's last name, Little.

Ok. Violet Mary Catherine Cucciniello Little.

But not long ago I was given another name. A street name. Given to me by one of our Welcome Church friends. He told me I was "Amazing Grace Little."

He named me that because I had introduced him to jazz musician, Alex Bugnon through a free concert here in Philadelphia. And Amazing Grace Little is a jazz singer. So we were linked through our common love of jazz.

I felt like I had experienced yet another rite of passage.

But here's the thing: the other day at our Tuesday service I asked the group who they thought God saw when they looked at each of them. One person raised his hand and said, "His child."

So there it was in a nutshell. The name that tied us all together, given to each of us by the one who claimed us: Child of God. The only name that really matters, after all.

Violet Mary Catherine Cucciniello Amazing Grace Little, Child of God.