I Will With God's Help

A Customary for Confirmation for the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland

"Will you continue in the apostle's teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and prayers?"

"Will you persevere in resisting evil, and whenever you fall into sin, repent and return to the Lord?"

"Will you proclaim by word and example the Good News of God in Christ?"

"Will you seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving your neighbor as yourself?"

"Will you strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being?"

These are the vows made at Baptism and affirmed by the community who witnesses this entry into Christian life. They also ground the mature, public affirmation of faith at Confirmation, Reception or Reaffirmation. More and more they have come to be used as guideposts for Christian life, a tool for reflection and teaching.

Gone are the days of Confirmation being an isolated rite of passage for youth, a pre-requisite for Communion, or an automatic welcome for newcomers raised in another denomination. Preparation for this important rite is the responsibility of the priest in charge, and is done according to local custom and resources. However, in our travels from region to region, from parish to parish, we are sometimes met by Candidates who have not had adequate time to reflect on their faith and the meaning of the baptismal vows for their own lives. At other times we are excited to meet Candidates who can articulate freely the meaning of their faith and demonstrate in tangible ways that their Confirmation is a commissioning to ministry in the world.

Because we believe strongly that Confirmation is a rite of discipleship, not a rite of passage, we offer this Customary to support you as you ensure the readiness of your candidates for this important commitment of Christian maturity and service. Our hope is that we make the most of this sacramental encounter. To that end, we recommend that all candidates be at least 15 years of age. We also expect that they will have spent time in preparation, formation and instruction. This includes that they:

• be regular participants in the life of their church community through worship, education and fellowship.
• are engaged in service and outreach into the local community and the world,
• have a basic knowledge of the Christian faith and the Anglican tradition, including a familiarity with the Book of Common Prayer and the Bible.
• attend one of our diocesan Bishops' Teaching Days.

Since the Baptismal Covenant focuses on the implications our faith has for our lives, we also trust that each person presented for Confirmation will have seriously reflected on their life and ministry in light of the vows. Confirmation is also one of the times that we try to connect and strengthen the tie between the local congregation and the larger Church. We will be using both the Baptismal Covenant and our link to the larger church as a focus of the Teaching Days and as conversation in our pre-confirmation meetings.

We encourage you to prepare candidates to run a course of ministry for life in the company of others, not just deposit information in them. Many resources are available to assist you in creating such a program. As background for those planning and leading programs, we recommend the book Fashion Me A People by Maria Harris. For reflection on the baptismal vows we suggest Living Water by Klara Tammany. For a focus on discipleship, you will find helpful the diocesan study book and guide for Encountering Jesus: How People Come to Faith and Discover Discipleship by Anthony Gittins.

A variety of other materials follows, including a bibliography of resources, guidelines for leading retreats, suggestions for working with youth in the ages between Sunday School and confirmation preparation (pre-teens), and ideas for designing "homegrown" programs. Samples of most of these materials are available on loan through our Resource Center. You can also call upon our Missioners for Christian Education and Youth for assistance. We hope you will take advantage of these rich resources. We would like to post on the website, some stories from congregations who have successful preparation programs so that you can network with those congregations. If you have a good model, please let us know.

May we all work more closely as fellow ministers in Christ to help build up "the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.."
(Ephesians 4:13)

Blessings on the Journey,

The Rt. Rev Robert Ihloff

The Rt. Rev. John Rabb

Klara Tammany
Missioner for Christian Education and Formation

Wes Wubbenhorst
Missioner for Youth