A Community of Love and Forgiveness - Confirmation 2021

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Last week Sunday was our church's confirmation service where seven young folk publicly pronounced their faith in Jesus and committed their lives to follow in his footsteps, with God being their helper. 

It brings me great joy to see young people experience the abundant life that God has to offer and choose to follow the way of Jesus.

The most powerful part of the confirmation service for me is not the confirmees' promises to follow Jesus, but the congregation's response and promise to care for the confirmees. Here are some of the words that the congregation declares together:

"With God’s help, we will surround these persons with a community of love and forgiveness, that they may grow in their trust of God, and be found faithful in their service to others. We will pray for them, that they may be true disciples who walk in the way that leads to life."

It is in these beautiful words that we are faced with the wonderful reality of the church's true purpose - to be a visible presence of the Kingdom of God on this earth - to be a community of love, to care for each other, carry each other's burdens, forgive, uplift and encourage.

The Church is made up of imperfect people and because of this, we often fail to honour these promises, but the confirmation service is an annual reminder that the Church is meant to care for and pray for all of its members, not leaving them to fend for themselves in this world. In doing so, new believers (and old) may grow in their trust of God and be found faithful in their service of others.

"Therefore encourage one another and build each other up as you are already doing." – 1 Thessalonians 5:11

      "Carry one another’s burdens; in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ." – Galatians 6:2

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