Confirmation & Festal Eucharist

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Above: The Sacrament of Confirmation in 2010, when Bishop Sisk was here. In 2011, Bishop Colclough will be with us.

About Confirmation & Reception:

Once a year, we celebrate at Saint Thomas the Sacrament of Confirmation and Reception. Those who have never had the laying on of hands of a bishop of the apostolic succession are confirmed into the Episcopal Church; those who have already been confirmed by a bishop of the apostolic succession (such as those previously confirmed into the Roman Catholic church, or many Eastern Orthodox churches) are received into the Episcopal Church.

Candidates for Confirmation and Reception are baptized Christians who are ready to publicly affirm their Christian faith and who wish to be a part of the Episcopal Church. The adult candidates prepared for Confirmation and Reception by attending the Rector’s Christian Doctrine Class; the younger candidates prepared with other instructors.

If you are interested in Confirmation or Reception into the Episcopal Church, we’d be delighted to speak with you. We’ll repeat the process again beginning in January 2011, when a new Rector’s Christian Doctrine Class begins to prepare for Confirmation and Reception in May 2012. If you are not yet baptized, let’s get moving on that sooner rather than later. If you are already baptized and want to be confirmed or received in 2012, don’t hesitate to let us know now, and we will help you prepare. In the meantime, the best way to prepare is to attend church, and to grow in the faith alongside other Christians.

Service Details: 

You’ll notice the structure of this service is very similar to Holy Baptism. At Baptism, it is frequently one’s sponsors or Godparents that make promises on behalf of the newly baptized. At Confirmation and Reception, the entire congregation renews its baptismal covenant alongside those to be confirmed and received. We do this by reciting the Apostles’ Creed, just as we do at baptisms. [To fully understand the Creed, you might consider reading or listening to the sermons in the Apostles’ Creed Sermon Series, which has been preached this winter and spring at Sunday Evensongs and continues today at 4pm.]

The Sacrament of Confirmation takes place at the chancel steps. Each of the individuals to be confirmed or received comes forward to receive the laying on of hands by the bishop (see the photo above). The Bishop concludes the ceremony with the prayer, we say the peace, the Rector greets the congregation, and then we proceed on with a Eucharist as usual. All baptized Christians are invited to make their Holy Communion at Saint Thomas.

►In his two most recent Weekly Audio Messages, the Rector speaks of Confirmation and also the upcoming concert, In Praise of Mary. Listen to them both here. 

‚ñ∫All of the music today is by living composers. John Scott speaks of Jonathan Dove, Ned Rorem, and Stephen Paulus in his Music Notes.

‚ñ∫O God, my heart is ready, sung today by the choir, is recorded as part of our CD, American Voices.

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