Confirmation

LO has reached the 8th grade. In our church, 8th graders can go through Confirmation, if the parents and child discuss it and agree the young person is ready.

Confirmation is a 9-month long process to teach the confirmands about Christ so they are ready to accept Christ in the spring. They attend a special Sunday School class together, with a large team of teachers who guide them through the Bible.

They are each assigned a sponsor, someone from the church who is a good Christian example. The sponsor does some activity with the confirmand about once a month. Usually the sponsor is the same gender as the young person. Some guys take their confirmands to football games. Some women take theirs to the day spa. Others do dinner, shop, any activity that might encourage conversation. It's an opportunity for the young person to get to know, and talk with, an adult who is not his parent. The sponsor serves as mentor and role model.

The year is spent examining what it means to follow Christ, and asking questions about what that will mean to them. It's year of self-examination.

The confirmands go on a retreat as a group in the spring and develop a statement of faith for their group.

On Palm Sunday, those who choose to accept Christ are publicly "confirmed." It's a lovely service. Because we sprinkle our babies, they are not baptized during this time, as they have already been baptized. If there are any, however, who have not been, they are baptized at this time.

When LO was small and attended church with me, she used to gaze up at the choir loft when the flautist was playing, and sigh, "Oh, I want to play the flute." She just loved the sound of it.

Soon as she was old enough to hold one, DH got her one. Once she joined the band, he got her another so she has one at home for practice, and one at school. This way she doesn't have to carry it back and forth.

Her piano is her true solace, and she practices over an hour a day with no reminders at all. I think while she figures out songs and plays them over and over, she is also hashing personal issues in her head -- or not, maybe taking a break from them. I can only attest that her mood is much lifted when she plays.

The flute is her second instrument, and she loves to take piano songs and translate them to flute. She will play a piece on the piano, then play it on the flute. It has given her many hours of pleasure. And, of course, it is her vehicle to the beloved Band Camp in the summer.

Well, the flautist is a lovely lady who works at nearby college. She's the type lady my mother wanted me to be -- positive, and sharp, and always says just the right thing.

The Director of Christian Education typically finds sponsors for the confirmands by calling church members and asking if they will serve. It's sort of hit-and-miss, although once they have enough adults to serve, they match them up with the confirmands by gender and personality.

We took the bull by the horns. We called our flautist and asked her if she would serve as LO's sponsor. We told her how LO looks up to her and we think she is a great role model. She was so pleased to be asked, and agreed. She called the church and "volunteered" to be LO's sponsor.

It is likely they will work on a duet this year.

LO has 2 friends at school who visit our church. They are twin sisters. She asked them if they were going to go through Confirmation. When they weren't sure, she insisted. "It's spiritual. You need to do this. Your chance is over in 9th grade -- we only do it in 8th."

I was so pleased to see them there today, dressed up for the first day of Confirmation. The Youth Pastor called the confirmands by name and one by one they walked up to receive their new Bibles.

Sigh. Childhood. It's a time of beginnings and completions, each one taking you closer to adulthood. LO is growing up.