Confirmation

PREPARING FOR CONFIRMATION
 
So, Mom and Dad, just a few short years ago, or so it likely seems, you presented your newborn pride and joy for Baptism.  You stood among the congregation of the faithful, and for your child you professed the faith he, for reasons of age, could not.  You also made promises for her, on her behalf, again, because she was too young to do it for herself.  You promised to abide among the Baptized, as Christ promised to abide with us, so your son might grow up among those who love and serve Jesus.  Keeping that promise, you brought your child to worship with us and to fellowship with us from her infant days to these later days, when she wants her own smart phone.  You also promised to give him a Bible, and to teach him the Lord’s Prayer, the Apostle’s Creed, and the Ten Commandments.  You promised to show her what the godly life looks like – loving God with our whole heart and our neighbors like ourselves, and repenting our sins when we fail to love as God wants us to love. 
 
Well done, good and faithful servant.
 
And now, it is time for your daughter or son to affirm or claim for herself or himself the faith into which she or he was baptized.  Before he or she does that, we instruct middle-school children in the faith so they know the faith they affirm and to help them develop a mature relationship with Jesus.
 
Over the 3 years of the Confirmation program at St. Jacob’s Lutheran Church, we prayerfully reflect on the life and identity of the disciple of Jesus Christ.  Your son or daughter was made a disciple of Jesus Christ in Holy Baptism.  Now we help them to know their Lord and trust him to guide them throughout all of life’s challenges.  They will read the Bible from cover to cover.  They will be taught a variety of different ways to pray.  They will not only learn the liturgy of worship but become part of it as ministry assistants and even leaders.  They will study Luther’s Small and Large Catechisms, the history of the Church, the Creeds and the Ten Commandments.  They will attend a one week Confirmation Camp where we get to study everything with more attention to detail and time, and several day long events where we study our confessional materials, family life, and death and dying.  They will serve our neighbors in need, and they will learn how to support and encourage one another in their walk of faith.
 
None of this happens without Mom’s and Dad’s participation.  The most important aspect of any Confirmation programming is your participation in worship.  There is no confirmation if there is no attendance Sunday mornings.  Also, your witness to the faith as a disciple is invaluable to your child and Christ’s Church.  When you read your Bible in front of them, when you lead them in prayer as you pass an accident on the road where emergency crews are working to save lives or at the dinner table, when you bring food to church for the food pantry, when you tell the truth when a lie would be easier, all these things teach your children of the importance of your relationship with Jesus Christ.  Where you lead, your children will follow, even if they are giving you some guff about it as they do.
 
We meet on the first and second Sundays of the year from after fellowship, about 12:30 to 2:00 pm.  Confirmands are expected to attend worship at least 3 Sundays a month, serve as acolytes and crucifers as scheduled, take part in service projects, and, at home over the week, pray at the table and in the morning and before bed, and do the assigned Bible reading.
 
Upon completion of the program, your son or daughter will be confirmed on Reformation Sunday.  This is a very big day for the whole congregation, and we will all be pleased to celebrate with you.
 
The schedule for the rest of the year is posted below this, as are the forms we need you to fill out for our records and for permission for your daughter’s or son’s participation in various events.