Lessons from Confirmation Class

I've spent a fair amount of time over the past few weeks "preparing" people (teenagers and adults) who will be presented to the Bishop this coming Sunday to receive the rite of laying on of hands commonly called "confirmation". As I've journeyed with these folks, I've had two contradictory experiences of this effort:

1.  Confirmation marks a new beginning in one's living out the vows made at Baptism. The purpose of the preparation isn't so much about installing tons of information, but rather about assisting the candidates in the construction of an intellectual framework upon which to build a lifetime of theological inquiry within the tradition and ethos of a particular brand of Christianity known as Anglicanism. With this viewpoint, asking thoughtful questions and being at home with ambiguity has greater importance than having the right answers.

2.  Confirmation assumes a certain facility with the basics of the Christian Faith. Therefore, attention needs to be given to content.  There should be something of substance shared with those who are on the journey toward this sacramental act. With this viewpoint, receiving enough information so that one can have a clarity about what it means to be a disciple of Jesus in a 21st century context is crucial. Classes such as these can be opportunities for such clarification.

Here's the reality. I find myself keenly aware that one can hardly compress the whole of the tradition into a few hours' worth of instruction.  I've had some interesting questions posed throughout these classes. Of course, people are always interested in some of the more exotic aspects of liturgical worship ("Why do Episcopalians 'cross' themselves?" "What's the point of reading the Gospel from the midst of the congregation rather than from the lectern?" "Why do we have to say the Nicene Creed all the time?"). But this year, some questions have been posed that I would have thought were "givens" with Christians ("How did people decide that Jesus was God?" "Is it really necessary to attend worship or be a member of a church to be a Christian?" "Why is the Bible so important?"). When offering answers to these questions, I had the unsettling experience of recognizing that even my "answers" assumed a familiarity with certain concepts that I'm not altogether sure can be assumed these days.

All of the questions I've been asked give me some clues about the challenge of "doing church" in a culture of distraction and constant activity. We Episcopalians constantly say that if one wants to know "what we believe", one must spend time in worship with us. I heartily agree and indeed this is a part of my standard conversations with people new to the church. But here's what I'm learning -- our liturgical language is so nuanced, so concentrated and so laden with assumed theological freight that people can come to liturgies for years and still not develop a capacity to converse about the rudiments of the Christian Faith. 

I don't intend to bemoan the fact that there is a dearth of understanding of what it means to be a Christian even as there is more information available than ever before. I clearly see the vast work to be done if we are to communicate the Faith clearly and in a fashion that connects with people in the midst of their lives.  I understand that it's part of my job to insure that this happens. But I'm less impressed with the delivery system -- of a talking head (that would be me) blathering on in language that (while perfectly clear to me) seems to smack of an unintelligible jargon. I've learned lots in my confirmation classes this year. I only hope that I can put some of that learning into practice.