In the Presbyterian Church (USA) when an infant is presented for the sacrament of baptism the parents and congregation agree to nurture the child and raise the child in the faith so that when the child reaches the age of maturity he or she can confirm his faith and claim his or her identity as a follower of Christ for themselves.
This year we have 13 students in our Confirmation Program at CPC. I have been meeting with them one-on-one to discover how the confirmation program impacted them, what they liked or disliked about it, what they love to do, what inspires them, what they wish the church would do for them, how they think they can be active in membership here, and if there is anything that annoys or confusing them about the way we live out our faith here at CPC.
The conversations have been fruitful, interesting, inspiriting, and a bit heartbreaking. Each student has different things to share and some of the stories are affirming, others sort of confused, and yet others are still seeking to discover what their faith means.
This is fantastic! The Holy Spirit is really working on the hearts of these students to challenge them, enliven them, and even knock them a bit off-base and this is all good in the Lord's eyes.
I am blessed and honored to be a small part of this transformative and self-affirming process as these students take ownership of their personal faith identity.
May God richly bless each student and bless our congregation with their gifts for years to come!
