Dear St. Lukers,
When I was in seventh grade, I went through Confirmation classes at my home church. Depending on what denomination you grew up in, or if you didn’t grow up in church, Confirmation may have been a major rite of passage, it may not even have been part of your tradition, or anything in between. I remember it being an important milestone in my faith life, but I only remember the classes being in a bare cinderblock room, sitting at a table facing my pastor, who had a list of Bible verses for us to memorize. I’m sure my memory is far from complete in all that my pastor taught us, but needless to say, it was not the most memorable faith milestone in my life.
What I do remember, however, is my confirmation mentor who took me to lunch every week and talked about her faith. She asked me about my life, my hopes and dreams, and really truly got to know me. I also remember all of my faith family – the adults of my church – who showed up with cards and gifts, who shared how proud they were of me, and enthusiastically spoke their vows of support during my confirmation service. And really, they showed up for far more than confirmation. Even if my pastor’s classes had been the most riveting experiences, I still think what I would remember about confirmation would be the rest of the adults who showed up for me then, among so many other times in my life.
This Sunday, we will confirm 17 young people who have spent the last few months learning more about their faith, our traditions, our practices, and considering their own beliefs and convictions. Their experience has taken them far beyond a bare cinderblock room, but all across our campus to learn our stories, and across Orlando to learn about other faith traditions with which we share stories with as well. And, they have been accompanied by dozens of adults – mentors, pastors, parents, and so many of you. And while I think they will remember more than just a few Bible verses from what we have taught them, I hope that they remember what I did: the people who showed up in their lives.
This Sunday, we get the chance to ensure that these young people who are taking a giant step in faith, professing faith for themselves, and committing themselves to lead lives following Jesus alongside us. The “alongside us” is key there – it’s why I hope you are planning to be there this Sunday at 10 am in the Sanctuary as we worship all together as one church, showing our confirmands that we see them, we love them, and we want to be in ministry with them.
And it’s a chance for us to each remember our own vows of faith – whether we took them a year ago or 50 years ago – we reaffirm our own faith and commitment to ministry, together. It’s a chance for you to remember who and whose you are, and recenter yourself with purpose as we share one more theme for our Legacy of Leadership Campaign – that we are being called to Lead as Hope for the Future. And there’s no more perfect way to look toward future hope than to see our future leaders right in front of us, showing us that the future will be bright, not just because of their personal faith, but because of the way we have shown them what faith looks like through our example as well.
I look forward to celebrating this important milestone in the life of these young people and in all of our lives as a church together. See you Sunday!
Pastor Melissa
