The Bishop will be with us Thursday, February 10— last chance for Confirmation/Reception until 2023.
The Church isn’t totally sure what Confirmation is. In the Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, the entry for Confirmation is one of the longest—not because of how important Confirmation is, but because people have argued so much about whether and why it is important. Does it “complete” Baptism? If so, then it seems that Baptism is not, as we usually believe, full initiation into the Christian faith and community. If Baptism is full initiation into the faith and the Church, then why exactly is Confirmation necessary?
These arguments and discussions are not over. It is appropriate to say something we’re unused to saying about theology: we don’t know yet. But we do know some things. We know that Confirmation is a mature affirmation of faith, a responsible renewal of the promises made (perhaps on our behalf) at Baptism. And we know that it requires a Bishop. The Bishop’s role in the liturgy of Confirmation is to represent the one holy catholic and apostolic Church—the body of Christ that is bigger than Saint Paul’s and includes, well, Paul himself and Julian and Francis and Thomas and medieval peasants and our siblings across the world now and one day will include (if the Lord tarries) generations not yet born. Sacramentally, +Frank is an embodied reminder that we are part of something bigger than ourselves or him.
While we wait for the fuller expression of the theology of Confirmation, I’m thinking of it as an invitation to go deeper, to take the next step. To wrestle seriously with the questions that matter most and then make a deeper commitment to keep pursuing these questions with this group of people, in this way of living the questions. Confirmation is not an end—it is a commitment to continue.
In a diocese like Georgia, with one bishop and more congregations than there are Sundays in a year, we only see the Bishop on a longer cycle. He will next be with us on Thursday, February 10, 2022 for the Celebration of New Ministry (sometimes called the Installation of a new rector). We won’t see him again at Saint Paul’s after that 2023. And so we are putting together a fast-track class to prepare for Confirmation and Reception.*
I regret the quick timeline here, but we can pull it off and something I said earlier is crucial: Confirmation is a commitment to continue, not an ending. Everyone who wishes to take a class to prepare for Confirmation or Reception will be accommodated, but we need to know who you are, fast. Signal your interest by emailing me at ebiddy@saintpauls.org by Thursday, December 23. We’ll then see how those interested can best meet. It is my understanding that those who are faithfully engaged in efforts to be confirmed or received, and are basically waiting on a visit by the Bishop, are eligible to participate fully in the Annual meeting at the end of January.
If you’ve been baptized but not confirmed, or were confirmed elsewhere and now consider the Episcopal Church your home, join us to take the next step. Let’s go deeper together.
Eric+
*Reception is the Rite for those who have been confirmed in another Christian communion/denomination and want officially to become Episcopalians. The promises to be reaffirmed are the same as Confirmation and Baptism. If confirmed in another denomination, Reception is the process of joining the Episcopal Church.
