This Sunday at our 11:00 Service we will celebrate Confirmation Sunday for our 8th graders. I imagine “does Confirmation still matter” is probably not the question you were expecting from your pastor on the precipice of said day, but in a season packed with not one but three Confirmation ceremonies due to the pandemic, I have been giving this question more than the cursory thought it once received. Long gone are the days of firing squad style Confirmation Sundays, where kids sweat through their robes as well-meaning members pepper them with questions about the Small Catechism that Luther himself might struggle to answer on the fly. Also long gone are schedules with time uniquely carved out for Wednesday and Sunday church going. What is not long gone is a need for faith, community, hope, and love. Perhaps we need these things more than ever. Perhaps our youth do too! Just as the early church was called to join in faith, community, hope, and love, so our congregation is called still today. Through this Sunday’s scriptures, we are invited to explore the beauty and the messiness of the community of faith and the boldness of God’s mission to the world. Through this Sunday’s scriptures, God confirms the importance of these things. Through our gathering, we affirm them for ourselves. Through the Affirmation of Baptism, our 8th grade Confirmation students promise to live into this call as do we all! Does that still matter? Well, join us this Sunday and you tell me!
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