Confirmation

It used to be that Confirmation Services occupied a significant part of the Sunday routine of a bishop.  No so for me anyway – in our small congregations, confirmations tend to be ‘tucked in’ with other things.  Now that admission of children to communion before confirmation has become the norm in many places, confirmation as a rite of passage for teenagers has been fading steadily.  But it still delivers powerful messages.  There is the commitment of clergy to the process of preparation and the chance for real relationships to develop – family and godparents turn up to offer support and the bishop provides some added push to the idea that this is a significant event.  I still have some questions about it – but the chance of producing a memorable and affirming event in a young person’s life … at the point at which they are on the threshold of making their first really significant life choices.  It’s very compelling when you have the chance of being part of it.