October 23, 2011 - Reflections from the 2011 confirmands
Lindsay Petschauer
I have made the choice to be confirmed this year. I want to be confirmed for many reasons. It is the continuation of my growth in faith, which began when I was baptized as a baby here at St. James.
My first reason I want to be confirmed is to get closer with God and be the kind of person that God wishes for me to be. I want to be a full Christian, and not only be a part of the church, but serve others here in the church as well.
Confirmation class in the past few weeks has helped me fully understand what it means to be a Christian, and how to live the life of one. I feel that it will make me become a more responsible individual to make my own decisions. I will be responsible for coming to church and praying more on my own.
In confirmation class I have learned that to be close to God, there are many steps for you to take. One of the key things I will always remember is to forgive. I believe forgiveness is a choice we make through a decision, motivated by God and his command to forgive. Whatever affliction you may have against another, it is only right to forgive, like god forgives me. Confirmation class has been a learning experience for me.
As a teenager, I finally have had a major choice to make on my own, which was to renew my baptismal vows made by my parents on my behalf when I was a baby. By this, I mean I have made my own decision to be confirmed, without anyone else's consent. I think confirming my Christian faith will overall help me in making the decisions ahead of me in my life and will help me understand more of the teachings in church. It will also strengthen my relationship with god and to be with the Holy Spirit.
Kristina Euler
This journey into confirmation has taught me more than I ever imagined it could. I have grown to realize that these lessons taught to us in class are more than just biblical stories; they are lessons that can be applied to our everyday lives. As Christians we are taught to handle our lives as Jesus would. For instance, if someone tries to hurt you, you are meant to turn the other cheek and forgive that person. It never occurred to me how doing this can make you a happier. However, through these past few weeks, I applied this to my own life and I have found more peace and a deeper level of friendship.
I was asked to identify the gift that God gave me. After a while of thinking about this I realized my gift was the ability to listen and to understand people. I am grateful for this gift God presented me with, because it led me to create strong friendships. Life is centered on the relationships we build, to help support, love and care for you.
As I look to my future, I choose to continue developing into a meaningful Christian. This religion is more than just attending church and praying to God. It is about being a community and being kind to one another. In class we learned the true meaning of the church. It’s not just simply a building or the house of God, it is the people inside, that are the church. Though it may be very difficult, my goal is to live through all aspects of Christianity. I want to have faith, prayer, and fellowship. At home I am taught, to find my purpose in life and l live it every day. I am certain my purpose will accentuate the meaning of being a true Christian.
At first, when I was given this assignment, I was really worried about how I would write it. I wasn’t sure what I would write or how long it would take me. However, after I started writing, all the words that I wanted to say just came to me. I realized it was so easy to write this essay because it wasn’t like writing an English or history essay; I was able to write about my own thoughts and feelings about something that was truly important to me. Through these past few weeks I learned how to look at life through my heart rather than my eyes. I learned how to find faith, courage and strength not only from those around me, but within myself.
Alexandra Orlich
Well, I’ve finally made it through my confirmation, one of the most important experiences of my life to date. Although I generally dislike talking a loud to groups of people, discussing what getting my confirmation means to me is certainly an important topic to talk about. It helps to understand why going to church is so important and especially why confirmations are a big deal.
As I look around the church everyday, I see people who I have known for a very long time, even if I might not remember them. I may not know them personally, but there are some that have been there to watch me get baptized and have now also went to see me get my confirmation. By being in this church,I also feel like I am part of something bigger; I feel like I am part of family – everyone in church is so loving and supportive and I immediately felt welcome the day I came to church for the first when I was little. And I was warmly welcomed again when I started coming back a few years ago. I’ve also realized that church is like a mini version of a perfect world – people are kind, there are always events to join to help others and there is an air of hope and happiness once you set foot inside. It’s as though all worries are left behind when you come to this church.
Now that I’ve gotten my confirmation, I feel like I am even more part of the church. I used to think that going to church every single week wasn’t completely necessary – that going a couple times a month or for big holidays would suffice – but on my way to getting confirmed,I have discovered that honoring God weekly in church is more than important. As we get older, we depend on church and prayer as a source of hope for our future, our health and our family. By getting our conformation and renewing our baptismal vows, it means that we can finally take those responsibilities promised by our love ones,into our own hands, showing how we are growing up and becoming more influential in the church. It also shows how we do truly believe in God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit to help us through our troubled times and trust them to make the better decision so that things turn out its best for us.
In the book of Hebrews, chapter six, line two, it is stated that, “For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened,and have tasted of the heavenly gift,and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost...”. This, of course, is referring to baptism and the renewal of one’s baptismal vows. The chapter goes on to say how if one shall “fall away”, to once again accept them and their wrongdoings. “Enlightening” was precisely what we were doing in confirmation class – opening our minds to what confirmation and the belief of God is all about. In doing so, we have learned what Confirmation literally and figuratively is and how to receive it. Besides learning about that, we have also learning interesting facts such as, in times past and in the middle east now, baptism is received by submerging the child or person who wishes to receive the Holy Spirit, fully under water. Although it might not seem that important to know as of now,it helps in understanding the way the Catholic church has changed and molded into how it is now. So, overall, my experience of being confirmed was very educational and enlightening. I have a deeper understanding of the church and believe more in the importance of “prayer, worship, fellowship, education, outreach and service”.
© Raewynne J. Whiteley 2010