Confirmation Season
My Confirmation Memory
“Stir up in ______ the gift of your Holy Spirit; the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord, the spirit of joy in your presence, both now and forever. Amen.” - ELW Affirmation of Baptism.
It is Confirmation Season in a lot of congregations today. As I reflect back on my Confirmation, so much has changed. While I do remember attending Confirmation classes, I also remember what I had to do in order to be confirmed. I had to memorize 1 Bible Verse from each of the New Testament books of the Bible, 3 Bible Verses from the Old Testament, and 1 Psalm. Do I remember any of them? Maybe some but surely not all. I also remember the little spat between my adoptive parents right before my Confirmation service began. They were divorced by then, and they were arguing about who was going to come up when the parents were to go up. (I know my mother did not want my father up there). I honestly don’t remember the actual service but I do remember the lunch following the service where all the confirmands got to be front and center and we received a lot of cards from the members of the congregation. I remember keeping them for a long time.
Ah, yes. Confirmation. I remember it well…and probably not for the intended reasons. #1. I had to make public confession in front of the congregation. #2. I had to answer numerous questions about scripture and the catechism, including (by memory) the creeds, commandments and what they mean, the Lord’s Prayer and the meaning of the petitions, recite the books of the OT & NT in order…and I was scared to death to not know enough. I did not want to embarrass my dad (the pastor) or my mom. I remember that catechism lasted 3 long years, every Saturday morning for several hours. But it was a right of passage in the church. Confirmation allowed me to receive communion. Confirmation allowed me to vote in church governance. Confirmation allowed me to wear a new dress, high heels, and wear hose (with the seam down the back of my leg).
My baptismal sponsors had disappeared so my parents asked my mom’s sister & husband to stand in for me.
In reading the stories of your journey, it seems that many of the milestones in your life bring up sad memories. I am sorry for that. I trust that retelling these has been beneficial to you.You are a beautiful child of God, whom God has chosen to make a difference in a wounded world. God bless.