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Fall Formation Kicks Off
This Sunday
Mother Rebecca
I am excited to join you this Sunday as we kick off our fall formation program! This time of year awakens nostalgia in my soul for the comfort of falling back into the familiar routine of school and church life after a summer of travel and rest. I can’t wait to hear our church halls ring with the happy voices of children scampering off to Godly Play. I love to see our youth sitting together in the north transept at 9:00 a.m., then retreating to the Youth Building for their formation time. Most of all, I am heartened every fall when we return to the classroom and recommit ourselves to learning and growing as disciples of Christ.
In his letter to the Romans, the Apostle Paul likened this discipline of learning and growing in discipleship to the process of getting dressed each day. “Clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ,” he wrote (Romans 13:14). We begin clothing ourselves with Jesus in baptism: we take off our old self and put on Christ. Early Christians did this literally: they were baptized in the nude and clothed in white as they came out of the water. White remains a traditional color for baptismal gowns and suits for this reason.
Children baptized at Transfiguration continue to clothe themselves with Jesus as they attend Sunday School and Youth Group, learning more about what it means to follow Jesus’ call in their daily lives. Though some may feel they’ve graduated from this process when they graduate from high school, the work of becoming a disciple of Jesus is never finished. This is why I’m always so excited to return to formation in the fall.
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