DAPHNE, Ala. — A Fairhope minister believes a body of water commonly known as Mobile Bay should officially be named to honor a member of the Holy Trinity. Spanish maps from the 1500s label the water as “Bahía del Espíritu Santo” — or Bay of the Holy Spirit — and he hopes the bay’s name represents that origin.

The Rev. Jerry Tomecek of Sanctuary West church in Fairhope said that God had wanted the name restored in His glory.

“Without a name, you have no validation,” Tomecek said. “Man doesn’t want to give God any glory.

“Man wants to be God.”

However, changing the water’s name to reflect historical usage isn’t enough to justify the switch, according to United States Geological Survey regulations.

So Tomecek has looked to another rule: one that states people who live in the area near the water must agree with the name change.

If evidence suggests that most people in surrounding areas favor the name change, geological surveyors will contact officials of nearby cities and towns to determine the amount of support, Lou Yost, a Survey supervisor, said. If most agree, the Survey’s board will vote on the degree of need for the change versus a strict policy to retain names of well known features.

Tomecek said he has gathered support for his mission through billboards, license plates, his Web site — bayoftheholyspirit.com — and word of mouth since 1991, and said he awaits God’s advice for the next step.

He has approximately 100,000 supporters around the world who would petition the Survey to reinstate the name Bay of the Holy Spirit, he said.

Though the effort is a work in progress, Tomecek said he’s received honorary proclamations from Gov. Bob Riley and Mobile Mayor Sam Jones.

“No, this isn’t the end of it,” he said. “This is one of the steps of incremental revelation.

“God doesn’t show the whole picture at once; He gives a piece and you work on that till you … get more people aware of it.”

Upcoming events are planned to further spread the word about the mission and to gather support for the bay’s name restoration.

A baptism will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. on Sunday at May Day Park pier “because God said there’s another way to get the word out,” Tomecek said.

Anyone wishing to be baptized in the bay can bring his or her preacher, or Tomecek will perform the ceremony, he said, adding that each person would receive a certificate saying they were baptized in the Bay of the Holy Spirit.

Also, he will hold a ceremony at 11 a.m. on June 14 to dedicate a historical sign where the Causeway crosses under the bay way; the sign will state the bay’s spiritual name and history.

Yost, however, said that name changes are not easily made for such important landmarks.

“In 1996, we checked with the counties and towns; no one was in favor of it,” he said. “(Tomecek) sent something a couple of months ago about the (historical) sign.

“Just because someone puts a plaque up is not enough evidence to reopen the case.”

The Survey tries to regulate names of well known areas to avoid chaos, he said.

“We do hundreds of name changes a year for smaller features,” he said.

“The board isn’t in favor of changing long-standing names,” he said. “Mobile Bay is known nationwide if not worldwide.”

“It would cause confusion.”

Tomecek said he continues to follow the Lord’s will rather than his own.

“I pray about it — I don’t ever take the position that I’m in charge of this thing,” he said. “I’m the overseer.

“I’m just making sure that it progresses the way God wants it to progress.”