Confirmation 2024…and Beyond

by the Rev. Dr. Shelli M. Poe

From Current Tidings, April 5, 2024

As you may know, I have been meeting with a small group of our youth this academic year in preparation for Confirmation on May 19 during our worship service. There may be other young people who have not taken the confirmation classes but are interested in affirming their baptisms and becoming members of Little River UCC. If your child is in grades 8 through 12, they may want to take this important step in becoming a full participant and member in the congregation.

Because we haven’t celebrated confirmation in a number of years at Little River, here is some information to help our community understand this important step in the lives of our young people. If you have youth in 8-12th grades, please share this with them. If you have children or grandchildren who you would like to be given the opportunity to be confirmed in the future, we’ll do this again in a year or two (and every year or two thereafter). You might want to talk with your children/grandchildren even this year to help them understand the opportunity that will be upcoming for them.

What is confirmation?

It starts with baptism. A person is brought into the body of Christ (the universal Christian church, not a local church) through the sacrament of baptism. When an infant or young child is baptized, baptismal promises are made by one or more parents and sponsors. These adults assume certain responsibilities for the Christian nurture of the baptized child. The entire congregation also promises to provide a supportive Christian community in which a child may grow in awareness and understanding of the meaning of life in Christ.

As a child who was baptized in infancy approaches adolescence, the local church offers the opportunity for the young person to agree with the baptismal promises that were formerly made on their behalf. Confirmation celebrates this occasion of young people affirming their baptism and becoming a member of the local church.

What happens during confirmation?

During confirmation, participants will be asked to come forward and stand with their parents and/or sponsors. I will ask them whether they desire to affirm their baptism (or be baptized, if they've not been baptized before) in the faith and family of Jesus the Christ. I will then ask them to affirm the following covenant with the entire congregation: "We covenant with Christ and one another in the presence of God, to walk together in the way of Jesus by divine grace." We will then pray for them and welcome them as full members of the community. After the worship service is over, we'll have a reception for our new members. Cards and gifts are customary!

When is confirmation?

We'll have the ceremony on May 19, 2024, during our 10am worship service, with a reception to follow. All children and youth are invited to stay in the service that day, in order to see what confirmation is about and celebrate the decision of their older siblings in Christ, our youth.

What happens after confirmation?

After our youth are confirmed, we'll encourage them to stay in the service for the entirety of worship, if they so choose. Sunday School will continue to be available to our youth after Time with Children, and we thank Natalie, Amy, and Gail for continuing this opportunity! If a young person wishes to participate more fully in the congregation's worship as a maturing member of the church, they will be welcome and encouraged to participate in the entire worship service. We would love to give our youth the opportunity to serve as liturgists, ushers, candle lighters, microphone runners, and scripture readers. We also want them to have the opportunity to hear scripture interpreted from the pulpit, to participate in our Thanksgivings and Concerns time, and to enjoy the music and singing that is part of our services. They might also want to sit together in the sanctuary as a youth group, rather than with their families, as a sign of their growing maturity and to foster relationships with other youth. Coffee Hour will also remain as another opportunity to socialize with friends.

After confirmation, our youth are also welcome and encouraged to join the Handbell Ensemble, participate as active members of our ministry teams (Antiracism Ministry, Open and Affirming Ministry, or wherever their passions lie), join a Coffee Team or the Media Team, or anything else where they can use their talents or interests as part of our community. By participating more fully in the life of the church after confirmation, our young people will be more likely to continue their membership in a church community after high school graduation and into early adulthood.

Thank you for talking with your children and/or grandchildren about this important opportunity. If your young person (grades 8-12) decides they would like to be confirmed this year, please let me know by May 5, 2024.