Spring time means Confirmation Sunday. I remember the year my eldest was confirmed in the church. The grandparents came from afar, and we had a big party afterwards.
Why was Confirmation so important that we served a cake?
That’s a very good question! How about some discussion questions to pose to your next gathering. Do so around the dinner table. (Or wherever your family & friends are gathered together.)
Confirmation? What is that?
To “confirm” means to “make something definite.” When we confirm flight reservations we say, “Yes! I will be on that plane.” It’s like giving something a great big thumbs up! Confirmation at church this Sunday is a chance for young people to say out loud, “Yes, I believe in God!”
Why make such a big deal? (After all, I believe in God.)
It’s a big deal because it’s making a public statement of their belief. Confirmands (what we call those being confirmed) have taken two years of classes to prepare for this special worship service where they will be “confirmed.”
In these classes, they have studied what it means to be a Christian, a United Methodist, and a member of the First United Methodist Church. They started these classes as 7th graders and those who are now 8th graders may be confirmed—if they are ready.
Why wouldn’t they be ready?
First off, they need to have attended Confirmation classes, and worshipped, and done service projects, and gone on retreats (see the expectations) but also, they need to be personally ready to take this step on their faith journey to say “Yes” to their faith in God. It’s a big decision.
Is that the end of their journey? Are they all done with Sunday school after they get confirmed?
No, it’s not the end! We all continue to need to grow our faith!
What will happen in the worship service during Confirmation?
Part of what happens is called “the laying on of hands.” The laying on of hands is a symbolic act, a ritual that comes to us from the Bible.
The youth kneels upfront, and the ministers and their parental units put their hands on the confirmand’s head and/or shoulders. One of the pastors imparts a blessing to each young person. They will say something like…
Remember your baptism and be thankful. And may the Holy Spirit work within you, that having been born through water and the Spirit, you may live as a faithful disciple of Jesus Christ.
(Except, if the youth hasn’t yet been baptized, then they will at that point in time be baptized.)
What Confirmation questions do you have?
Here’s a short video about Confirmation from “Chuck Knows Church” produced by Discipleship Ministries of The United Methodist Church. (If you are reading this in an email, you may need to watch this video on YouTube.)
Photo credits…
Group photo of confirmation class, copyright by Peter DeHart, 2013. Used with permission.
Thumbs up by Michael Bentley, who originally licensed this photo on Flickr under Creative Commons (CC BY 2.0).
Laying on of hands during a post Confirmation Sunday, copyright, from my archives.
The Chuck Knows Church video #43 copyright by Discipleship Ministries of The United Methodist Church, used with permission.
Family Faith Companion 