St Martin's Episcopal Church in New Bedford MA
Confirmation
Confirmation is a pastoral and sacramental rite in the Episcopal Church in which a baptized person makes a mature and public affirmation of faith and commitment to the responsibilities of Baptism This means it is not a rite that notes some fuller initiation into the Church, the Body of Christ because a person is a full member of the Church through Baptism.
Unlike Confirmation, Baptism is the ancient entry rite into the Church, which is also called “the Body of Christ.” In baptism, we affirm that we belong to the God who is made known to us in Jesus, and we promise (or, if we are infants or very young children, promises are made on our behalf) to live our lives in accordance with this deepest truth about who we are and whose we are.
In Confirmation after the baptized person makes these mature and public affirmation of faith and commitment to the responsibilities of Baptism and the promises that are usually made at baptism by parents and godparents a bishop lays hands on the candidate and prays a prayer of confirmation.
The bishop is the individual who, symbolically, represents the unity of the entire diocese. The basic "unit" of The Episcopal Church is the diocese, and the bishop as a person is a visible means of reminding us of our common bond in Christ within The Episcopal Church. When the bishop lays hands on your head during the service, it is a very tangible way for you to experience your own faith journey being welcomed into the larger journey of the Body of Christ. For many people, this portion of the sacramental service is very meaningful. A sacrament is "an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace, given by Christ as sure and certain means by which we receive that grace." In this way, the touch experienced in the laying on of hands forever remains in your memory as an experience of grace through
the Church.
Am I a "full member" of The Episcopal Church without being confirmed? Yes. The Book of Common Prayer defines Baptism as "full initiation by water and the Holy Spirit into Christ's Body the Church. The bond which God establishes in Baptism isindissoluble." Confirmation is a pastoral rite not in an initiatory rite. This means that the sacramental nature of confirmation connects with our growth in faith and in relationship with God. Through Holy Baptism, we join Christ's Body, either as infants or adults.