What is Confirmation? We Presbyterians believe that baptism represents God's claim on our lives and a promise from the covenant community to care for the person baptized. Because this is God's initiative and the community's action, we baptize babies. Another significance of baptism is that it is associated with our faith. When someone gets baptized who is old enough to understand and profess their faith, then the baptism is the occasion on which they publicly profess their faith for the first time among the covenant community. We also don't re-baptize people. As long as the first baptism was in the name of the Triune God, it counts; the baptism is God's, and the competence of the officiant can do nothing to affect the efficacy of the sacrament.
Add all that up, and it means that some people might be baptized (as infants) who have not yet professed their faith. In these cases, Presbyterians "confirm" the baptism of kids who've grown up by having them profess their faith in front of the community. In our church, we do this about 6th or 7th grade and up. We have a class with the kids and discuss matters of faith and what confirmation means. At the end of the class, those who are ready profess their faith in the worship service. We would also include kids who are old enough to think about and understand their faith but have not been baptized. At the end of class, they would be baptized along with their profession of faith. While this is not technically a confirmation of an earlier baptism, we still call this Confirmation class.
Professing faith in front of the congregation is also how people become members of a congregation in the Presbyterian church. When these kids stand up and profess their faith, they are also becoming full members in the church. This mostly means they can vote in congregational meetings. In this way, Confirmation class is a milestone of maturity; they are equal to adults in their participation in the congregation.
We are starting a confirmation class on Sunday, March 2nd. Class will be after church, and pizza will be included. March 2nd is Transfiguration Sunday, the last Sunday before Lent. As a class, we will get oriented to the Confirmation class and process, and we will solemnly burn the palms from last year's Palm Sunday to make ashes for Ash Wednesday on March 5th. Classes will be after church with pizza throughout the rest of Lent (except for skipping one Sunday for Spring break, tbd). There will be no confirmation class on Easter, and the public professions of faith will be the Sunday after Easter.
When we baptize people, the congregation, speaking for the whole church is asked, "Do you, as members of the church of Jesus Christ, promise to guide and nurture these by word and deed, with love and prayer? And, will you encourage them to know and follow Christ
and to be faithful members of his church?" If you see kids in our Confirmation class, be sure to encourage them, as we have promised to do.
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