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Confirmation enables a baptised person to confirm the promises made on their behalf at baptism. It is also a sign of full membership of the Christian community.  

 

If you are considering being confirmed, the Benefice runs preparation classes for candidates at intervals throughout the year.  If you would like to find out when the next course is scheduled to begin for teenagers (or nearly teenagers) or for adults, please contact the Team Rector, Rev'd Maurice Stanton-Saringer or Rev'd Béatrice Pearson for further information.

 

Confirmation marks the point in the Christian journey at which the participation in the life of God’s people inaugurated at baptism is confirmed by the bishop by the laying on of hands, and in which those who have been baptised affirm for themselves the faith into which they have been baptised and their intention to live a life of responsible and committed discipleship.  Through prayer and the laying on of hands by the confirming bishop, the Church also asks God to give them power through the Holy Spirit to enable them to live in this way.

 

When confirmation is part of a combined rite including adult baptism it has a slightly different significance.  In this case, the confirmation element signifies the gift of the Holy Spirit following on from baptism in water. The biblical model for this is Christ’s own baptism in which, the gospels tell us, the Spirit descended on Him when He came up out of the water after having been baptised by John the Baptist (Matthew 3:16-17, Mark 1:9-11, Luke 3:21-22, John 1:32-33).

 

As in the case of baptism, there are two types of confirmation service in the Church of England, those that follow the confirmation service in The Book of Common Prayer and those that use the pattern of confirmation service contained in Common Worship.  Most confirmation services today follow the Common Worship pattern.

 

Further details of confirmation can also be found here at the Church of England website.

 

 

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As soon as Jesus was baptised, he went up out of the water.  At that moment heaven was opened,

and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting upon him.  Matthew 3:16

last updated on 25/10/2008 09:22:34