{"id":4353,"date":"2025-05-15T06:01:29","date_gmt":"2025-05-15T06:01:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.villages.com.au\/?p=4353"},"modified":"2025-05-15T06:02:40","modified_gmt":"2025-05-15T06:02:40","slug":"a-rare-baptism-at-90-alvins-step-of-faith-at-wishart-gardens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.villages.com.au\/retirement\/a-rare-baptism-at-90-alvins-step-of-faith-at-wishart-gardens\/","title":{"rendered":"A rare baptism at 90: Alvin\u2019s step of faith at Wishart Gardens"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"4353\" class=\"elementor elementor-4353\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-0b753a5 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"0b753a5\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-d0d8d07\" data-id=\"d0d8d07\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-a737b00 elementor-drop-cap-yes elementor-drop-cap-view-stacked elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"a737b00\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-settings=\"{&quot;drop_cap&quot;:&quot;yes&quot;}\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<style>\/*! elementor - v3.15.0 - 20-08-2023 *\/\n.elementor-widget-text-editor.elementor-drop-cap-view-stacked .elementor-drop-cap{background-color:#69727d;color:#fff}.elementor-widget-text-editor.elementor-drop-cap-view-framed .elementor-drop-cap{color:#69727d;border:3px solid;background-color:transparent}.elementor-widget-text-editor:not(.elementor-drop-cap-view-default) .elementor-drop-cap{margin-top:8px}.elementor-widget-text-editor:not(.elementor-drop-cap-view-default) .elementor-drop-cap-letter{width:1em;height:1em}.elementor-widget-text-editor .elementor-drop-cap{float:left;text-align:center;line-height:1;font-size:50px}.elementor-widget-text-editor .elementor-drop-cap-letter{display:inline-block}<\/style>\t\t\t\t<p>I<strong>t\u2019s not every day you see a baptism in a retirement village \u2013 but 90-year-old Alvin McHugh\u2019s inspiring story is a powerful reminder that it\u2019s never too late to take a step of faith.<\/strong><\/p><p>Surrounded by nearly 70 friends and family, Alvin was baptised last week at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.villages.com.au\/qld\/brisbane-south\/wishart-gardens-aged-care-32\">Carinity Wishart Gardens<\/a>, publicly affirming his lifelong \u2013 though at times challenged \u2013 commitment to Christianity.<\/p><p>\u201cLooking back over my life, I feel it\u2019s time to be obedient to God\u2019s wishes,\u201d Alvin said before the ceremony, which took place in the village pavilion.<\/p><p>Alvin\u2019s faith journey began early. His father was a Baptist pastor, but when he passed away suddenly, Alvin \u2013 then just 17 \u2013 struggled deeply. \u201cAt that point, my faith was at a very low ebb, and I blamed God,\u201d he shared.<\/p><p>It wasn\u2019t until his 40s that Alvin recommitted to his faith, trusting in what he now sees as God\u2019s unwavering presence through life\u2019s toughest chapters \u2013 divorce, mental health struggles, and caring for his beloved wife, Elaine, through her battle with depression and dementia.<\/p><p>\u201cThrough constant prayer, God gave me the strength to care for Elaine,\u201d Alvin said. \u201cIt was only when I looked back that I truly saw His faithfulness.\u201d<\/p><p>Carinity\u2019s Mission Engagement Manager, Pastor Tracey Valentine, who led the baptism with Reverend Tim Winslade, said it was a privilege to witness Alvin\u2019s milestone moment. \u201cHis story is a beautiful example of God\u2019s love through every season of life,\u201d she said.<\/p><p>Alvin also expressed his heartfelt thanks to the Wishart Gardens community for their support \u2013especially after Elaine, his partner of nearly 60 years, passed away in September.<\/p><p>In a place where quiet faith is often lived out in private, Alvin\u2019s baptism offered a moving, public moment of grace, hope, and renewed purpose.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It\u2019s not every day you see a baptism in a retirement village \u2013 but 90-year-old Alvin McHugh\u2019s inspiring story is a powerful reminder that it\u2019s never too late to take a step of faith. Surrounded by nearly 70 friends and family, Alvin was baptised last&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4354,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[70],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4353","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-retirement"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4353","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4353"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4353\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4357,"href":"https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4353\/revisions\/4357"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4354"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4353"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4353"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4353"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}