May 13, 2023
Change
We are in the season of transition. Outside we see the spring transition from the cold of winter into the new life of summer. With budding trees, baby animals emerging, and the warmth of the air, the world just has a different feeling as we stroll around outside.
In the school systems, we see our youth changing out of a new grade. Sometimes, this just means new classes, rooms, and teachers; sometimes, this means a brand-new school; for some, this might even mean a real-life, tax-paying job! With eagerness and a bit of hesitation, our kids await the summer and all of the wonder and possibility it has to offer.
In the church, we are celebrating the rite of Confirmation or Affirmation of Baptism this upcoming weekend. We will watch as 15 of our young people proclaim their faith and take on the promises of baptism for themselves. Before this rite, they are considered youth in the congregation; after, they are fully baptized and confirmed members of the church, with all the rights and responsibilities of other adult members. I invite you to include the confirmands in your prayers this week.
This year, as I was reading through the Confirmation service, I was struck by something I had forgotten. This service is not meant to be a once in a lifetime event. Instead, we are encouraged to affirm our faith “at the time of significant life passage.”
As you move through these transitions and changes happening in the world around us or in your own life, I want to encourage you to affirm your faith in God through baptism. When we root ourselves and our identity not in our abilities and accomplishments but in God’s promises, we stand on solid ground. We can enter boldly into whatever the future holds, trusting and remembering that God will continue to be with us, giving us love, mercy, and strength for the journeys that lie ahead.
God’s Peace,
Pastor Tim
We are in the season of transition. Outside we see the spring transition from the cold of winter into the new life of summer. With budding trees, baby animals emerging, and the warmth of the air, the world just has a different feeling as we stroll around outside.
In the school systems, we see our youth changing out of a new grade. Sometimes, this just means new classes, rooms, and teachers; sometimes, this means a brand-new school; for some, this might even mean a real-life, tax-paying job! With eagerness and a bit of hesitation, our kids await the summer and all of the wonder and possibility it has to offer.
In the church, we are celebrating the rite of Confirmation or Affirmation of Baptism this upcoming weekend. We will watch as 15 of our young people proclaim their faith and take on the promises of baptism for themselves. Before this rite, they are considered youth in the congregation; after, they are fully baptized and confirmed members of the church, with all the rights and responsibilities of other adult members. I invite you to include the confirmands in your prayers this week.
This year, as I was reading through the Confirmation service, I was struck by something I had forgotten. This service is not meant to be a once in a lifetime event. Instead, we are encouraged to affirm our faith “at the time of significant life passage.”
As you move through these transitions and changes happening in the world around us or in your own life, I want to encourage you to affirm your faith in God through baptism. When we root ourselves and our identity not in our abilities and accomplishments but in God’s promises, we stand on solid ground. We can enter boldly into whatever the future holds, trusting and remembering that God will continue to be with us, giving us love, mercy, and strength for the journeys that lie ahead.
God’s Peace,
Pastor Tim