Youth Confirmation, now more than ever

Confirmation: now more than ever Preparing for Confirmation during a pandemic

Aline of people stands near the steps of the chancel. Two by two, they step up and a bishop approaches each one, lays her hands on their heads, and prays that God will strengthen, empower, and sustain them as they continue the lifelong journey of Christian discipleship. If you’ve ever been confirmed, or if you’ve ever attended a By Blake Singer Confirmation service, you know that I’ve just described the moment we all wait for during this (usually) annual service.

However, at a time when we must keep our distance from one another, this description probably sounds dangerous, a relic of pre-pandemic times, along with blowing out birthday candles, singing, and shaking hands, The characteristic marker of the Confirmation rite—the laying on of hands—doesn’t abide by the six-feet rule. This is why the confirmands who prepared for this transition last year are still waiting to complete their journey with the rite itself. As parish staff have approached the topic of Confirmation for this year, we’ve been acutely aware that we still don’t know when last year’s confirmands will be confirmed, much less this year’s.

Why would we even begin a new round of Confirmation preparation without the finish line in sight?

As I’ve wrestled with this and related questions, I’ve taken comfort in knowing we’re not the first people of faith to live through a pandemic and grapple with what it means to be a Christian during such times. I’ve especially been drawn to Christian mystic Julian of Norwich, who lived during the “Black Death” of the 14th century. In Revelations of Divine Love, Julian describes a series of visions that she received from God on her deathbed. At one point, Julian says, “I saw our Lord scorn the [devil’s] wickedness and despise his lack of power, and he wants us to do the same. At this revelation I laughed heartily and that made those who were around me laugh too” (Revelations of Divine Love, LT 13). In the midst of a pandemic, staring death in the face, Julian laughs at the devil and all of the evil the devil represents, because she knows that Jesus is Lord and evil has no lasting power.

One of my seminary professors, Amy Laura Hall, wrote a book devoted to this passage, where she claims that she “has come to hear Julian’s laughter as a call to holy audacity” (Laughing at the Devil, xii). As we discern how to be the church in the midst of a pandemic and wrestle with what to do with things like Confirmation, perhaps what we need most is to listen to Julian’s laughter and to hear her call to holy audacity.

I’ve come to believe that beginning the process of Confirmation is more important than ever, even in the midst of uncertainty and no schedule for a visit from our bishop. Confirmation is an opportunity for Christians to affirm the vows made at their Baptism. The entire process leading up to Confirmation, whether in person, virtual, or any combination of the two, equips us to do just that.

On the surface, this sounds rather tame, until you begin to examine some of the vows. For example, the examination of the confirmands begins when the bishop asks if they “renew their commitment to Jesus Christ” (Book of Common Prayer, p. 415). I find the word “commitment” to be somewhat misleading, because one can easily