This Sunday is Confirmation Sunday! After nine months of study, Confirmation students joyfully declare what they have come to believe in front of the congregation, affirming their faith and becoming full members of Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church. These eighth graders began their study last September, delving into topics such as the Trinity, the importance of the Bible, and church history. They asked vital questions of faith about Jesus’ humanity and divinity, what it means to be a Christian, and the impact of sin. I am deeply proud to have the Session present these 16 youth members for Confirmation.
This past Sunday you may have enjoyed seeing some of their Confirmation projects in the gym. Our confirmation program is unique in how we examine our candidates for Confirmation. We invite our youth to pick one spiritual practice that they do for 30 days. After the 30 days, they create presentations about their experience – why they chose what they did, how they practiced it, and how the practice impacted their relationship with God.
During the Confirmation Expo, Session members interviewed the Confirmands and learned about their projects. Confirmands also had the opportunity to present their projects to members of our congregation. We had youth engage in gratitude journals, meditative walking, Scripture reading, and more this past year. I hope you had a chance to stop by to hear about the great work they did!
All their work during retreats, service events, and Sunday morning classes culminates this Sunday. They will stand in front of the congregation and answer four questions that every PCUSA Confirmand is asked:
- Trusting in the gracious mercy of God, do you turn from the ways of sin and renounce evil and its power in the world?
- Who is your Lord and Savior?
- Will you be Christ’s faithful disciple, obeying his word, and showing his love?
- Will you devote yourself to the church’s teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers?
Reviewing those questions every year with our Confirmands, I am consistently brought back to the keystones of our faith – working toward justice, following Jesus, loving others, and engaging in faithful Christian community. Especially in these times of senseless violence and wars, overt racism, mental illness, fear around bodies, and LGBTQIA+ phobias, their voices will lead us into a faithful future of following Jesus.
