December, 2000 - Vol. XXIX No. 3
All About Confirmation
"I Will with God's Help
A Customary for Confirmation for the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland"
by The Rt. Rev. Robert Ilhoff and The Rt. Rev. John Rabb
"Will you continue in the apostle’s teaching and
fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and prayers?"
"Will you persevere in resisting evil, and whenever you fall into sin, repent and
return to the Lord?"
"Will you proclaim by word and example the Good News of God in Christ?"
"Will you seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving your neighbor as
yourself?"
"Will you strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of
every human being?"
These are the vows of baptism, made by Candidates or sponsors, and affirmed by the community who witnesses this entry into Christian life. They also ground the mature, public affirmation of faith at Confirmation, Reception or Reaffirmation. More and more they have come to be used as guideposts for Christian life, a tool for reflection and teaching. However, we as your bishops, are aware that many of those being prepared for Confirmation, Reaffirmation and Reception have not had adequate time to reflect on the meaning of these vows for their own lives.
Gone are the days of Confirmation being an isolated rite of passage for youth, a pre-requisite for Communion, or an automatic welcome for newcomers raised in another communion. Preparation for this important rite is the responsibility of the priest in charge, and is done according to local custom and resources. However, in our travels from region to region, from parish to parish, we are sometimes met by Candidates who are ill-prepared or too young. At other times we are excited to meet Candidates who can articulate freely the meaning of their faith and demonstrate in tangible ways that they are ready to exercise their Confirmation as a commissioning to ministry in the world. Confirmation is also one of the times that we try to connect and strengthen the tie between the local congregation and the larger Church.
Therefore, we offer the following guidelines to support you as you examine the ways in which you prepare Candidates for this most important commitment of Christian maturity and service. We encourage that you ask your Candidates to:
Finally and most importantly, since the Baptismal Covenant focuses on the implications our profession of faith has for our lives, we expect that each person presented for Confirmation will have seriously reflected on their life and ministry in light of the vows. We will be using that as the subject of conversation in our pre-confirmation meetings.
A note about any program: the word "curriculum" comes from the Latin currere, which means to run. Literally, curriculum can be considered a course to be run. Strive to create programs that will prepare people to run a course of ministry for life in the company of others, not just deposit information in them. One valuable means of doing so is to use mentoring, and we urge you to include it in your preparation of Candidates.
Many good resources are available. We hope you will make use of them. A bibliography is enclosed. As background for those planning and leading programs, we especially recommend the book Fashion Me A People by Maria Harris. For guidance in creating a process of reflection on the vows, we suggest the resource Reclaiming Baptism, and a similar study guide from the Diocese of Missouri. Samples of these and other materials will be available on loan through our Resource Center.
Additional information will soon be posted on the Diocesan web page, including stories from various congregations that have been identified as having strong programs. You may network with them and are invited to add your story to the collection. Klara Tammany, Missioner for Christian education, is available to consult with you in planning programs. Contact her with any questions or with stories that you would like to share.
It is our sincere hope that by offering this "Customary "we will all be able to work more closely as fellow ministers in Christ to help build up "the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.…" (Ephesians 4:13).
Blessings on the Journey,
The Rt. Rev Robert Ihloff, Bishop of Maryland
The Rt. Rev. John Rabb, Bishop Suffragan
Klara Tammany is Missioner for Christian Education and Formation for the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland. She has worked in the ministry of religious education since 1984, and has an M.Ed in Religious Education from Boston College. Her newest passion is biblical storytelling. You can contact her at ktammany@ang-md.org.
© 2001, Diocese of Oregon
updated 05/03/2003 16:03
contact: kylew@diocese-oregon.org