We celebrate our 2022 confirmation class! We had eight participants. Pictured below – our fishing, fellowship and learning session.
ABOUT CONFIRMATION
Many lifelong United Methodists have fond memories of their confirmation class. Sometime during adolescence, they met with a group of their peers, some adult leaders, and their pastor. They may have gathered weekly in the church basement, during a youth Sunday school class, or maybe for a weekend retreat at a campground. When the classes were complete, they then stood before their congregation, where the pastor and others put their hands on them while a blessing was said. Some then received a special lunch or a gift from their church. Public profession of faith Although confirmation is not a sacrament in The United Methodist Church, it is an important marker along our spiritual journeys. At baptism, we are initiated into the new covenant in Jesus Christ and membership in the Church, Christ’s body in the world. For many, this happens when they are very young. We recognize children are members of their human families, but no one expects them to clean their rooms or empty the dishwasher until much later. In the same way, “baptized infants are members of the Church—the family of faith—but are not yet capable of sharing everything involved in membership,” By Water and the Spirit, The United Methodist Church’s official statement on baptism, teaches. Confirmation is an opportunity to respond to the grace of God available to us, as acknowledged in baptism, and to promise to live as a person of faith. “What God offers us must be accepted in repentance and faith,” This Is Your Baptismal Liturgy states. “Confirmation and reaffirmation are our responses of commitment, profession of faith, and rededication.”