September

Confirmation, Reception, and Reaffirmation

We’ve been announcing for months now, both in print and during the Sunday services, that we will be offering preparation sessions for youth and adults desiring to be confirmed or received into the Episcopal Church. Those sessions will begin on Sunday, September 25 and will continue each Sunday through November 13. This is in anticipation of Bishop Richard’s visit to St. James on November 20 when the Rite of Confirmation, Reception, and the Reaffirmation of baptismal vows will take place.

What exactly is confirmation? What is reception? What is reaffirmation? What are the differences?

It all starts with baptism. Two of the most powerful statements in our Book of Common Prayer are in the rubrics concerning Holy Baptism. “Holy Baptism is full initiation by water and the Holy Spirit into Christ’s Body the Church. The bond which God establishes in Baptism is indissoluble” (PB p. 298). “Full initiation.” That is, nothing more is needed. Confirmation is not a completion of baptism. Once a person is baptized, they become full members of the Body of Christ. “Indissoluble.” That is, nothing we do can ever destroy the bond God has established.

Confirmation does not give added assurance of baptism’s indissoluble bond. No completion or added assurance is needed. 

Some people understandably have asked, “So then what’s the point of confirmation?” It’s a good question. In fact, it was a live question among bishops and theologians in the process that led to the creation of the 1979 Prayer Book. Some even argued that confirmation should be abandoned. That argument did not prevail, and for good reason.

Confirmation is an invitation to those who were baptized at an early age “to make a mature public affirmation of their faith and commitment to the responsibilities of their Baptism and to receive the laying on of hands by the bishop” (PB p. 412). It’s the rite through which a person takes ownership for themselves the commitments made on their behalf at their baptism, typically when they were an infant or small child. It’s an opportunity for a mature person to say “Yes, this is my faith. I embrace the bond God has already established with me, and I am committing before the whole church, symbolized by the bishop, to respond to that divine action of love with my life.

So then, what is “reception?” Reception is the rite that acknowledges that some people have already been confirmed in another church body, for example, in the Roman Catholic or Lutheran Church; or have otherwise made a mature public affirmation of their faith in a church that doesn’t include the specific rite of confirmation but typically baptizes people at a later age, for example, the various Baptist Churches. In those cases, we don’t re-confirm someone.

Instead, we recognize and celebrate the mature affirmation that has already taken place and publicly “receive them into the fellowship of this communion,” the Episcopal Church, as the context in which they are committing to live out their faith.

Reaffirmation is simply an opportunity for any baptized Christian publicly to reaffirm their faith and commitment to Christ. There are many reasons a person might want to do this. I recall one instance of a person who returned to church after decades of having abandoned her relationship with God and anything having to do with church. But the Holy Spirit had been working quietly with her all along – there’s that indissoluble bond again – and at some point, she courageously stepped across the threshold and said, “I need and want to do this. I need and want to reconnect with Christ and his people. I desire to say ‘yes’ again, this time after a lifetime of experiences that have shaped me in ways I couldn’t have imagined thirty years ago.”

If you are age sixteen or older and would like to be confirmed or received or formally reaffirm your baptismal vows (all of us reaffirm them regardless anytime there is a baptism or confirmation), then join Mother Lathrop and me for the preparation sessions at 9:15 Sunday mornings beginning on September 25. Join us even if you simply want to learn more. The sessions are open to all. Please sign up through Realm here.

Security Protocol

The Vestry recently has begun to consider ways we can make St. James more secure on Sundays and other times during the week. This is a result of our increased awareness of random violent acts perpetrated against innocent people at schools, places of worship, and other spots where people gather. We don’t want to be reactive, but we do want to be vigilant and careful about ensuring the safety of everyone at St. James.

Please be aware that, beginning this month, the exterior doors of the building will be locked 15 minutes after the start of each worship service.

We will be consulting with the Crime Prevention Unit of the Greenville Police to learn more steps we might consider to enhance the safety of our community.

Covid and the Common Communion Cup

Some people might be wondering about sipping from the common communion cup while Covid is still with us. This is and will remain an individual decision unless circumstances change significantly. There are a variety of factors that enter that decision, perhaps most importantly your current health and risk factors. Here are three pieces of information that might help you in that decision.

• There have been several studies of the relationship between the spread of disease and drinking from the common cup. Their conclusion is that while the spread of disease is theoretically possible in this way, the risk is so small that it is undetectable. For a useful article about these studies, see https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7439816/. These studies were done before Covid and I’m not aware of any studies specifically on the relationship between the common cup and the transmission of Covid.
• While intinction is an option that many exercise, intinction theoretically increases the potential spread of infection due to the possibility of many fingers contacting the wine.
• An acceptable option is to refrain from taking the wine altogether. The Episcopal Church recognizes the fullness of the sacrament in either kind. That is, if you have consumed only the bread or only the wine you have participated fully in the sacrament.

Some people have exercised this option for a variety of reasons long before Covid existed.

I hope that helps. And if you’ve tested positive for Covid or are not feeling well, please take care of yourself at home and let the great cloud of witnesses worship on your behalf!

Peace,

Fr. John Nieman