Tompkins

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

"Tracing the History of Confirmation"
by Elizabeth Tompkins

"Confirmation, a Rite in Search of a Theology" was the intriguing title of a series of Lenten talks a number of years ago by the Rev. Dr. Ruth Meyers at St. Luke’s in Kalamazoo, MI. A professor of Liturgics at Seabury Western Theological Seminary in Evanston, Illinois, she traced the history of lengthy baptismal preparation in the early church, and the variety of meanings that confirmation has developed. Citing biblical sources for baptism, she said "There is no rite of Confirmation in the New Testament; the book of Acts is a story of the missionary expansion of the church, not a description of consistent patterns of other actions associated with baptism."

Dr. Meyers told us, "Bishops presided at baptism until the conversion of Constantine, when large numbers of persons being baptized led to the practice of infant baptism by presbyters, with the expectation of presenting oneself in the future to the bishop for a second anointing. A number of regulations grew up to get parents to bring children to the bishop, with at first a maximum age of 7, then thought to be the age of reason. In the 12th through 14th centuries, it became the minimum age, and youth were beginning to get instruction. In an English rubric, communion was denied until a child was confirmed, an action meant to get parents to take children to the bishop whose laying on of hands strengthened one for spiritual combat, completing an increase of the Holy Spirit received at baptism."

In the 16th Century, some of the Reformers supported infant baptism, with later confirmation. The desire that people receive instruction in the faith (catechism) became connected to confirmation, rather than baptism, as was true in the early church. Receiving communion now required knowledge. In the 1800s, when America finally had bishops, confirmation became important as a missionary tool to increase membership in the church. One was not seen as a full member until confirmed; the rite was understood as a necessary completion of baptism, a ticket to communion, and required for those entering from other denominations.

Debate raged over the action of the Holy Spirit and whether confirmation was to be understood primarily as a sacramental rite (God at work through the Holy Spirit) or a catechetical, more pastoral one (a personal affirmation of faith, with the focus on our actions, not God’s), according to Dr. Meyers.

The New Prayer Book Brings Clarity

The 1979 Book of Common Prayer compilers separated the two dimensions – sacramental and catechetical, stating that baptism by water and the spirit is full and complete initiation at whatever age received, and is not repeatable. This full membership allows receiving communion immediately. In effect, it cancels the purpose of first communion classes. Baptism was restored to the center of the church’s life.

Confirmation is clearly not completion of baptism, nor approval to receive communion. As a reaffirmation of faith, and of the baptismal vows, confirmation requires a mature decision, and is not a rite to mark puberty. The 1979 BCP has a variety of forms of reaffirmation which aid us in living out the questions asked at baptism whenever we renew the Covenant. A form of reaffirmation is repeatable according to life transitions, and happens at every Eucharist when we celebrate and renew our baptism. It is easy to see why confusion still exists for many of us. The development of confirmation by the church was a long one, often with intentions other than spiritual.

Examining these issues in the Diocese of Western Michigan took many years; current practices have been built on a broad collaborative foundation. A Catechumenal task force spent more than five years in study and training with the Church Center Evangelism Ministries, the Catechumenal processes in nearby dioceses, and of the Roman Catholic Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA). Although given the task of developing a diocesan catechumenate, the timing was not right, with only a few parishes having a process in place today.

Joint initiation policies were published by liturgists representing all the dioceses in our state. We changed the name of Christian Education to Christian Formation on the diocesan level and now in parishes. Formation (of Christians) has opened us to the concept that this is lifelong learning, not Sunday School alone. We suggested in 1989, to our newly arrived Bishop, Edward L. Lee, Jr., that confirmation be a deanery (convocation) event and always in the Great 50 Days of Easter. He agreed, welcoming a new vision for parish visitations to become a time of retreat with them. A joint diocesan "Living Waters" conference was held with all our Bishops present, and with Daniel B. Stevick, author of Baptismal Moments, Baptismal Meanings. At the same time, Executive Council named Christian Formation as highest priority in our diocese.

Emergence of the Bishop’s Teaching Days

Bishop Lee also recognized that he now had a teaching opportunity, and has fully developed his role as chief pastor and teacher in the diocese through baptismal themes. Now in our eighth year, five Saturday Teaching Days will be held, one in each deanery during Lent. All persons seeking adult baptism, confirmation, reception or reaffirmation are expected and offered preparation to attend. The central actions of the day use our senses to recall, reawaken, and reclaim our baptismal experiences as full initiation into our Life in Christ. Bishop Lee models story telling, and we share our baptismal memorabilia, sing, hear scripture, pray, discover a wider community, and end with a liturgy and asperging of everyone! The candidates report enjoying this relaxed personal time with Bishop Lee and receiving new ideas. The hospitality offered encourages people to ask hard questions.

Our evaluations of these Teaching Days helped to recognize needs and trends:

(1) Raising the minimum age to one of mature affirmation; now 16 or in 11th grade

This idea met initial resistance, but by raising it one year at a time we have moved from 11 year old children being presented, to mature and articulate young men and women who take their place fully in discussions and sharing. They make the decision to be confirmed, not their parents or church school teachers. The number of persons being confirmed has doubled in recent years, most of the increase being these young adults.

(2) Finding age-appropriate youth programs to avert the tendency to use Confirmation as a rite of passage, out the door of both church school and church. With Bishop Lee’s urging us to find such a program, we became the first to secure a diocesan license for Journey to Adulthood. It is now in use in 30 of our 63 churches, and is transformational in the life of our young people, their leaders and their parishes. We have raised up a cadre of more than 100 leaders. The young persons often defer confirmation until 17, saying they are not yet ready! The pilgrimages, mission trips, and urban adventures have become legendary. We are now electing 16 year olds to vestries and as diocesan convention delegates, and they are taking their place as young adults among us. Bishop Lee confirms teens presented after two years of J2A recognizing the value of their training. Among other benefits, a diocesan license allows parishes to secure the curriculum at much less cost. We provide training and resources at no further cost to our parishes. J2A is an evangelism tool for many parishes, bringing in unchurched families who accompany their youth.

(3) Finding resources for preparing parish candidates of all ages

The class materials recommended include a mentor for each candidate, use journals as part of the preparation, and focus on the Baptismal Covenant. We provide texts, booklets, and videos for Teaching Day preparation that can be borrowed or purchased through the Resource Center. A bibliography may be requested.

(4) Training and use of Sponsors for the Teaching Days and rites

I wrote a program for sponsor training, and it is given to parishes on request. We now see most candidates come to Teaching Days with sponsors, who are expected to participate fully in the day’s activities.

(5) Connecting these Teaching Days to the rite of Laying On Of Hands

The same Scripture and hymns are heard at both events. The homily recalls the theme of the Teaching Day, and candidates see familiar faces at the Deanery Confirmations.

The Legacy, Hopes, and Wishes for the Future

In an ideal world, parishes would spend nine months or longer on catechumenal programs to prepare young people for confirmation. Seeing the results of commitment to J2A programs encourages us to hope that more parishes will provide this preparation for their youth. In the future, trained sponsors could be normative for all candidates. Baptismal preparation for families of infants and children is still minimal, and is a rich untapped resource for parishes to address with a mentoring program for new parents and young families. Perhaps most significant, our bishop will retire within 2 years, and our prayers are that his replacement will have his passion for baptismal preaching and ministry to continue this ground-breaking work.

Elizabeth is Consultant for Formation, Diocese of Western Michigan, and a member of the Episcopal Council for Christian Education, representing Province V. Contact her at ElizTompkins@aol.com