The Vicarage
27 Little Tongues Lane
July Letter 2024
Dear Friends,
Introduction
It seems strange to write to you today about something that will be happening at the end of November! However, summer will eventually arrive and then, in September, we shall begin our Confirmation Classes. So plans need to start to be in place in July! Therefore, I am writing to you today to explain about the Sacrament of Confirmation, and about the Confirmation classes for our young people, and our adults.
Confirmation is a joyful service in which the candidates make their own promises to follow Christ and become an adult member of the church.
It is a natural step on from, and is connected to, the Sacrament of Baptism.
Where does it come from?
In the Bible we read that the Apostles and other church leaders laid their hands on a Christian’s head and prayed for them to receive the Holy Spirit. You can read about this in the Bible:
Paul said, “John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus.” On hearing this, they were baptised in the name of the Lord Jesus. When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied.
Acts 19: 4~ 6.
In the early Church the Sacrament of Confirmation was always given immediately after the Sacrament of Baptism. Today many churches still practice ‘the laying on of hands’ as a confirmation of faith.
For those who were baptised as children, this confirmation now takes place when they are old enough to make the promises for themselves. This happens in the Confirmation service, when the bishop lays his or her hands on the heads of the ‘confirmation candidates’.
What is involved?
Before people are confirmed they will usually go to a confirmation group. Here they will learn about the important beliefs of the Church and have an opportunity to discuss issues of faith and life with others.
A celebration and confirmation of faith…
This is an important time for a young person to learn about the commitment that being a Christian involves. They may have been baptised as a baby but in the confirmation service they will make their own promises before God about choosing to live as a Christian.
Their family and friends will join with them to support them and to celebrate this special day.
During the service itself…
The Bishop talks about how the Holy Spirit helps us to understand what God wants and how the Spirit encourages and guides us in this. This year, we are thrilled that Bishiop Jill, Bishop of Lancaster, will celebrate our Confirmation.
The Bishop asks the people being confirmed if they have been baptised. She will ask them if they believe in Jesus and that they will try to live the way He wants.
Each person comes to the front in turn and kneels down. The Bishop says, ‘God has called you by name and made you his own.’
The Bishop puts her hand on their head, and then says, ‘Confirm, O Lord, your servant with your Holy Spirit.’ They say ‘Amen.’
The Bishop then draws the sign of the cross on the forehead of the candidate with the oil of chrism. This is an ancient sign of being chosen by God. Oil is also used at baptism – it marks a sealing by the Holy Spirit and is used as a symbol of strength and preparation for the Christian life. The sign of the cross shows that the candidate is a child of God.
Why is Confirmation a Sacrament?
The Book of Common Prayer teaches us that a Sacrament is ‘an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace.’
In the Sacrament of Baptism the outward sign is water and the grace received is that of being made a member of Christ’s body, the Church. In Confirmation the outward sign is the laying on of hands and the oil of chrism. These are signs of the grace given at Confirmation – the anointing, strengthening gifts of the Holy Spirit.
The Age of confirmation
In the Church of England, there is no maximum age for confirmation. Today, many people are now being confirmed as adults as they discover for themselves the freedom and joy that faith in Christ brings. Already this year we have a number of adults considering Confirmation.
Children who are old enough to answer responsibly for themselves (usually aged 10/11 or above) and who have taken part in a course of preparation and are regular in attendance at church during the time of preparation, may be confirmed.
Confirmation Group
The Sacrament of Confirmation will be celebrated in the afternoon of 24th November. In 2022 it was at Pilling, last year at Preesall, so this year it will be at Hambleton.
Confirmation classes for young people will start in the week beginning 15th September on an evening most convenient for people.
Confirmation classes for adults will begin in October.
To facilitate the arrangement of the classes there will be a short meeting for all who are interested in being confirmed on Tuesday 16th July at S, Oswald Church Hall starting at 7pm. The meeting will be short just to determine the best day for classes to take place in the autumn.
Please let Fr Peter or Rev Naomi know if you are interested in being Confirmed, or if your child, or grandchild is interested in being confirmed. The classes are aimed at those in the present top class or those entering top class in September.
The classes will be run by Fr. Peter & Adele. They are relaxed and easy, with no test at the end! Come along and discover the truth and the joy of the Christian faith.
At this moment, pray for our candidates and pray that both young people and adults may take that great step forward in faith.
Fr Peter
A prayer for Confirmation candidates
Lord God
We thank you for all who are taking the step of faith
And coming forward for Confirmation:
You have stirred the depths of their faith,
Lord, stay and play, teach and inspire them!
Show them such wonders of your love
that they may approach this great sacrament
With hearts on fire with love for you.
And be sealed, by the spirit forever as yours. Amen
At a national and international level over the past few years, the leaders of our denominations have worked together to bring about an ever-closer degree of cooperation with all our brothers and sisters in Christ.
Archbishop Justin Welby recently said of ecumenism.
Christians work together, serve together, pray together, and proclaim the Good News together they are no longer strangers – they are brothers, sisters and friends.
In 2004 the Methodist Church set priorities for the future which included
“In partnership with others wherever possible, the Methodist Church will concentrate its prayers, resources, imagination and commitments on this priority:
– To proclaim and affirm its conviction of God’s love in Christ, for us and for all the world; and renew confidence in God’s presence and action in the world and in the Church.
Whilst in 1995, Pope Saint John Paul II said
It is absolutely clear that ecumenism, …. is not just some sort of “appendix” which is added to the Church’s traditional activity. Rather, ecumenism is an organic part of her life and work, and consequently must pervade all that she is and does.
It is our task to pray, work, and study together. But more than anything else, it is part of our daily life to work with gentleness, humility, and love with our neighbours in Christ in our villages and communities.
Much of what I have written relates to our working with Churches Together in Pilling and Churches Together in Preesall: this in no way detracts from the equally important relations with Hambleton United Reformed Church. We are as enthusiastic in our commitment to working ecumenically in Hambleton as we are to the rest of the Benefice: indeed, the United Reformed Church states that
The URC has ecumenism rooted at the heart of its very existence. At local, national, and international level, the contact and understanding between the wide variety of Christian traditions, representing the diversity of the body of Christ, lies at the heart of our mission.
In a very real sense, we are called to a service of love with each other across the denominations and across our communities. In his great High Priestly Prayer at the Last Supper, Jesus compels us to be one. May we be utterly committed to that task here Over Wyre.
We are so truly blessed Over Wyre to have close relationships with our brothers and sisters in the Methodist and Roman Catholic Churches and good relations with other denominations. May we through friendship build understanding, trust, and love to serve one another and serve our communities together.
May we, wherever possible, work together for the building of the kingdom.
Finally, may that model of unity in diversity also be the model for our relationship across the benefice of Over Wyre group of churches. Working together, sharing together, helping and supporting each other with a rich diversity in unity.
May we share Christ’s may that we may all be one! (John 17:21)
Fr. Peter