Singer

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December, 2000 - Vol. XXIX No. 3
All About Confirmation

"Youth Confirmation: Notes from a Conversaton in Progress
in the Diocese of California"
by The Rev.Sue Singer and The Rev. Julie Graham

For the past year we have been exploring the Sacrament of Confirmation as it relates to teenagers in the Diocese of California. This work arose out of our growing sense that there was a need "out there" in our diocese for a substantive conversation on the issue. Both Sue (in the Department of Education) and Julie (in the Department of Youth and Young Adult Ministries) had been fielding an increasing number of inquiries from youth ministers, educators and clergy searching for just the right program to prepare their youth for Confirmation. But behind the practical questions we sensed some larger concerns lurking:

Just what is Confirmation when offered to teenagers, and what is it for?
How does this sacrament fit into their ongoing formation in the life of faith?
What do teens, their parents, their youth ministers, clergy and bishop see as the purpose of Confirmation?
And, once we have at least tentative answers to these questions, how should we go about Confirmation preparation?

In response to these concerns we convened a small working group and set several conversations in motion. We developed a set of surveys which were sent to clergy, with the request that they collect responses from youth, youth leaders and parents as well as making their own responses. Survey questions focused on the perceived purpose of Confirmation by youth, clergy, youth ministers and parents, as well as on the perceived relevance and adequacy of the preparation offered in their congregations. Lively conversations on the topic were held at a Diocesan Leadership Day workshop titled "ConfIrmation or ConfOrmation?" and at our annual clergy conference. Some informal research was done on "what other people are thinking and doing" around this issue, and on the currently available curriculum materials.

We have received a number of helpful survey responses and are awaiting others. Our initial conversations, particularly with clergy, were enlightening and somewhat encouraging. The most interesting of our findings from the work so far are summarized below. Many of the responses to our questions confirmed the hunches and assumptions that members of the working group had held, but some responses were surprising, and also surprisingly positive:

For teens to be formed in the faith, they need to be active, participating members of the community of faith well before they reach the teenage years. Faith formation is something that requires involvement in the Christian life through participation in worship, ministry and mission from the earliest age.
Our clergy feel very strongly that a more wholistic approach to faith-formation is essential, that there are few resources available in support of such an approach, and that the church has typically not done it well. Confirmation is therefore often used as a "make-up session" with teens, a "last chance" for involvement, community and an invitation to commitment to the Christian life.
Clergy are actively seeking help in creating congregational "environments" in which children and youth are fully welcomed and involved.
Parents often have surprisingly warm memories of their own formal Christian Formation (either as youth or as adults) and have a great deal of hope that their teenagers will feel more fully integrated into the church as a result of Confirmation.
Clergy were exceptionally honest about the need they perceive to do something significant for teens at a critical point in their formation in faith. They want to capitalize on parental support for teens’ involvement in a Christian Formation program at a time when the pressures of school and extra-curricular programs are drawing on time that might otherwise be available for participation in the life of the church.
Many clergy noted that since Confirmation is available to youth, and is traditionally the sacrament offered to teens, they might as well make good pastoral use of it even if they were not completely clear about the theology behind it. Clergy viewed it as a rite of passage and wanted to use it creatively to meet the real pastoral needs of their youth for community, meaning, and a transition to a more "adult" status in the church. There was very little concern from clergy about historical and theological questions about the connection of Conformation to Baptism.
There was general enthusiasm about bringing adults and youth together in intergenerational groups as a step in faith development.
The responses from youth revealed that many come to Confirmation sincerely seeking some kind of spiritual development or milestone, even if they are not quite sure what they seek. Many responses focused on their need for ways to relate their faith to their lives, and showed an eagerness to grapple with "real life" questions in terms of faith.

Obviously the work we have done so far has only begun to open up an important conversation. Larger issues have arisen out of our findings to date and we will have to address these in the future:

The overall role of teens (and children) in the community of faith.
Other transitions of the teenage years that need to be embraced by the faith community and recognised, perhaps through rites of passage other than Confirmation.
The need to look at the particular spiritual gifts of teens as a resource to the community, and as a necessary part of the community (and in the same way to look at the spiritual gifts of children, the elderly, the poor, the handicapped, and anyone who is not a "regular adult").
The role of the bishop in relation to Confirmation, and the question of how Confirmation relates to the theology and structures of the church as a whole.

Over the next months we plan to do further research into the theology and practice of Confirmation in the wider Episcopal church, and to have a substantial theological and practical conversation with our bishop before we move on to draft a theological statement and to recommend practical structures and resources for youth Confirmation in this Diocese.

Sue is a priest and Education Coordinator, also a member of Adult Provincial Educators (APEs); Julie is also a priest and Youth and Young Adult Ministries Coordinator. Both work for the Diocese of California. Contact Sue at sues@diocal.org.