Seven youths and 10 adults from St. Matthew’s were part of the Confirmation Sunday service held at St. Philip’s Cathedral on March 17.
Bishop Rob Wright said during his sermon, “There is something about being with us, and now, you are us, and I had the high privilege of formalizing that. What a gift.”
Bishop Wright noted that service in the Prayer Book concluded for those being confirmed or reaffirmed with “Amen.” Wright said he wanted to add more to the amen.
“If they wanted a friendly amendment – the ones who wrote the Prayer Book – I would say it shouldn’t stop at amen. It should stop at welcome home,” Wright said. “For you who are being received, I say welcome home. Welcome home because, in this sin-weary world, it sure is nice to find a home.”
Confirmation is a modern adaptation of an ancient church tradition by which those deemed adults were prepared to enter the Christian faith and life.
Today, the Sacrament of Confirmation has a two-fold purpose. For those baptized as infants or children, it provides an opportunity to affirm their baptismal vows as adults. For adults, Confirmation is the sacrament through which persons reaffirm their baptismal vows and, by sacrament, deepen their commitment to the Episcopal Church.
