Proclamation, Confirmation, Affirmation and Celebration

May 21, 2000

Douglas S. Long with
Marshall Alderman, Jordan Long, Stephanie Bell, Lauren Alderman, Jessica Long

North Raleigh United Church

While the act of Confirmation is clearly ingrained in some of our traditions, for others in our NRUC community, the rite and ritual of Confirmation is not familiar at all. I want to take a brief time to introduce what some of our youth present themselves for this morning. (…and let me say that I fully realize the brief remarks I make now may only raise more questions for some of you. Please feel free to share your questions with me… If there is anything I want you to know, it is that I am available to you.)

A few months ago I sat with our wonderful group of youth (do you realize how gifted we are to have these teenagers among us? Seriously… I've been a part of and worked with youth groups for many years. The group we have is exceptional. …and they did not emerge from a vacuum. They reflect the homes they come from. What a gift!!)

…anyway, a few months ago I sat with some of you and our youth and began asking what questions they would want to address before they felt prepared to present themselves publicly as followers of God and members of the church. …not that they weren't/aren't already you understand, because they are… but the public part of the relationship…)

and so they shot out three legal pages full of questions…
Who was/IS Jesus, really?
What about the Bible?
Are we just living out a script God wrote eons ago, or do we have a say in what happens in our lives?
Why would a loving God send anyone to hell? (fully 25% of the questions dealt with hell, Satan, the anti-Christ…and I made the pledge, now in writing to address this subject one Sunday in worship… and so come next Sunday if you want to me preach a hellacious sermon.)

Over the course of our Sunday services, and in our Sunday evening times together, I have attempted to address most of the questions of the youth. Not all have been adequately covered… but baptism, confirmation are but sign posts on the journey, a continued journey which is in and of itself the destination.

In a former church I pastored, it was not unusual for a youth to go through a much more formal process of confirmation classes, present their statement of faith, and then choose not to be confirmed at that time. The parents of these always shuddered, for they had come to know from observing other such youth in the past that these were the ones that were seminary bound. 

I promise you that no arms were twisted, but five youth have chosen to freely present/proclaim statements of faith today. My words to you now serve only as an introduction. Their words are the real preaching done today. It is no small task to put a part of your faith on paper, and then share it with others. (Others of the youth have already been confirmed or baptized as adults. Some have chosen to continue their process of discernment at this point. We will never twist your arms to follow some specific formula and some specific age in. The God of freedom we all proclaim would be denied by such a process. We affirm each of the youth in their decisions at this time and pledge to equally nurture, care, support, play with and love you all.)

To assist and support them each youth that brings their statement this morning was paired with a sponsor, a mentor, a friend, another covenant partner of the NRUC community to share their ideas with, to talk about our church covenant, to bounce ideas of their own struggle and issues of faith.
So Sandra McKeown has supported Lauren Alderman, Harding Birkhead has patiently listened to Jessica Long, Louise Alfredson has laughed with Stephanie Bell, Don Alderman has labored with Jordan Long, and Lamar Caldwell has nurture Marshall Alderman.  (Additionally Jim McKay has been enriched by Ben McKeown).

I cannot express adequate gratitude to these adults for being a visible, tangible representative on our behalf to these youth… and yet I know that the gift is theirs, for the seeds they have watered in their relationship with these youth bears fruit that may last a lifetime.

The five that come forward bring several traditions along. Two have been baptized as infants (Stephanie and Jordan), one has been baptized as an adult (Lauren), and two others were 'dedicated' in the church have they were very young (Jessica and Marshall… and some of you are asking how it is that the Long's have one child who was baptized as an infant and another who was dedicated. Answer is that our movement out of one tradition and into another occurred between the births of our two children.). 

We have emphasized to our youth, and in all our life together, that we do not wish to get enmeshed in semantics and the debate of theological minutia… but it is important for us to stand with the church though the ages recognizing baptism as a powerful sacrament… the public blessing of God as one enters into the grace of the church. While in our understanding the act itself is not 'saving' it does clearly represent the acts of our God who embraces us fully. The timing and mode of baptism isn't what brings its power. It is the spirit of God cleanses, refreshing, freeing us to live that blesses.

Baptism the sign and seal and sacred symbol of God's care…. Confirmation the public affirmation of one's readiness to accept that blessing as a child of God, commit to seriously struggle with what it means to live such grace, and enter the life and fellowship of the community we call the church in order to be supported and support others on this journey into the future… toward wholeness with God.

The church affirms the youth in their proclamation… and we all celebrate.

In baptism and confirmation, we come to be blessed and renewed and set more decidedly on a journey of faith… by the waters of life, toward the God of love.
Amen.

The 'Statements of Faith' of the Confirmands

Marshall Alderman
What is God?  Who is God?  Where is God?  The truth is that nobody really knows.  Those are some of the questions that the North Raleigh United Church Youth Group asked on Sunday night at a youth group meeting for the start of conformation.  We started talking about God and what God is, but of course it is really impossible to know the true answer to that question.  We asked a lot of questions about death and what it feels like after death.  I believe that everyone well have a chance to meet face to face with God after death.  My mentor and I sat in his house and we stopped after a few statements and I told my mentor, Lamar Caldwell, what part of the covenant means to me.

Well, I believe that God created everything.  The universe, the earth, trees, plants, humans, animals.  Scientist believe that the Big Bang theory happened.  If the Big Bang theory really happened, I believe that God made the "Big Bang."  I believe God created humans so God wouldn't be lonely. And then God gave us knowledge so we would know what to do in our life. I have a lot of thoughts about Jesus.  I believe god created Jesus to be the messiah and to heal people,  and lead them in the right direction in their life.  I believe Jesus and God, as a team, still put people in the right direction.  God and Jesus are always around us.  They protect us.  A lot of times people choose bad decisions like steal something or even kill somebody.  It is like God stepped away from a person for one second and something bad happened to the person in that split second.  Whatever people may do God still loves everyone.  If someone dies, everyone gets sad. God tells us it is OK to be sad but you should also move on with your own life but not to lose any memory of that person that you may have.  God lets us know that another day will soon come, but everyday is and adventure so nobody really knows what will happen.  If you knew what would happen the next day that would just take all of the excitement out of your life that God gave to us.  We are all one BIG family...we are not always happy but we are still one big family.  When you pray you keep up with God and the rest of your BIG family.

God is an unknowable mystery. Nobody knows whether God is a he or she, human or animal.  Getting confirmed and baptized is a big step for me and I am glad that I can share it with you and I am very happy to be in a big family with all of you.

Jordan Long
Today I am supposed to share with you my "Statement of Faith."  I take that to mean a statement of things I believe, and maybe some thoughts as to why I believe it.   One thing I believe strongly is that our very existence is an opportunity to seek answers to puzzling questions.  Questions help us understand God..  I feel that this church is a place where one may feel free to ask questions, seek answers, and express opinions.  So here we go…

All of my beliefs come together at two questions: Who is God; and How does Jesus Christ tie in? Every other belief of mine branches from these questions.  What does God expect from us?  What does fate have to do with God? Etc.

First of all, I like to think of Jesus as a manifestation of God, a way to access God, a demonstration of God's love.  Thus later making the ultimate sacrifice to prove it.  I think of this God as the New Testament God.  But this version of a gentle, loving God was portrayed in the Old Testament as a vengeful, destroying, furious God.  Why are there two interpretations of God?  The answer to that question I'm still trying to work out.

I'll be honest sometimes there are times when I've questioned the existence of God; and yet there are times when I know God must be real.  For example,  sometimes I feel like I'm stepping out of my body when I look at things closely through my eyes and realize there has to be some connection with who I am.  Sure, human beings could have been formed by evolution, but evolution and science alone don't give people their character.  Some mystery does. God is a mystery I'm trying to crack but I've hardly got any clues on the mystery yet.

What is this thing called fate? The bible talks of prophets predicting futures based on what God has told them. Therefore God has already planned what's going to happen to me and I CAN'T STOP IT.  I'm not sure I like this "fate" .  Fate says people have no free will to do what you choose. Is it fate that decides that you should move your arms or legs or talk?  No YOU are the one who chooses. Without free will human beings would be mindless and almost dead. You would be a puppet.  I don't think that's the way God wants it to be.

What makes God more of an enigma to me than ever is that "If you don't know Jesus you will burn in hell."  In other words, you've been bad, or you're not of any use because you don't love Jesus or God so you'll suffer in excruciating pain and torture forever.  Hmm.  Not a pleasant thought.  Wait a minute here!  Isn't God caring and compassionate?  Isn't God unconditional love?  Why would God put a loved creation like us into eternal punishment?  I think that the Bible has many messages that are profitable but this one I don't believe.  Therefore, I don't always take the Bible literally,

While the existence of God is a puzzler, heaven is even harder.  How do you know for sure if you have a good life and die that there will be an eternal reward for you up there?  The term, reincarnation, or a person dying then immediately being born again as a different person is more believable to me.  (Ultimate recycling, I suppose: recycling of the soul.)

North Raleigh United Church is a place where I can learn more about who God is and the use of myself in this world.  NRUC lets everyone feel welcome, no matter who they are.  I also like NRUC because it's more loose with its worship: no strict dress code, or formal speech, but a nice laid back, even humorous, quality.  This is the right place for me.

Stephanie Bell
Until a person is about my age life is a road that only goes in one direction with the help of the parents. When a person reaches my age the road suddenly goes in two directions and there is only limited help from parents. At this point in my life I have chosen to take the road that is unpaved with curves and hills that make the future unpredictable. This road is the road that
leads to God.

As of April 29, 2000 I have been walking this road. While traveling I have found that I have received the gift of unfading love. This love, from God, had helped me to find that within every person there is an inner peace and I found mine while walking with God.

Also while walking with God, I believe that my faith has greatly grown. By this I mean that the curves and hills are not all that scary anymore because I know that if I fall God will be there to help me rise to my feet and keep walking. I also think that the road to God is not as scary because I know that no matter how many times I fall, or how many times I sin God will ALWAYS be there with open arms.

I believe that I have now confirmed my faith and that I am ready to say (not to be cliché) that I have seen Gods light and it has inspired me to keep walking with all of my heart.

Lauren Alderman                    
For 15 years, I've been a Christian and a full believer of God.  I've always felt that God is with me and I've really wanted to be a part of what was created.  A while back when I was maybe 10 years old, I was baptized at Millbrook Baptist Church, my first church.  It was the place that helped me grow in to the Christian that I am today.  When I was baptized, it was a way of saying that I wanted to be a follower of Christ and that I trust God's love and forgiveness as revealed in Jesus.

In this new community and in the act of Confirmation, I am reaffirming that.  Being part of a church is really important to me and finding a community that believes what I believe is important as well.  Church isn't just a building where people sit down and pray.  It's a place of welcoming and belonging.  A place where everyone is important and everyone participates.  A place where people give as well as receive. I  believe that Church is being with the people you love, working with other Christians as well as worshipping with them.  It's also a place of helping others who are in need.  There is something about helping that makes me feel closer to God and it gives me more of an understanding about God and ourselves.  Church is PEOPLE who live out the love and forgiveness that God has given to us.  But the best thing about church is that it's a place where you are given a chance for a new beginning.  No matter what has happened in the past, you are always welcome at church to start a new relationship with God.

There have been many cases where I have questioned about where God is and what God does.  God is always present with me and will love me no matter what happens.  God is always willing to help me when I run in to conflicts and I realize that when I conquer those problems, it was really God that showed me how.  God desires an intimate relationship with me and has shown it by walking me through the steps of becoming a Christian.  I used to think that God was a person and that was it.  But as I've grown and learned more, I've realized that God is everything.  God is revealed to me in many different ways. God is expressed through music, people, church, our Bible, helpful actions, and especially through nature because we wouldn't have these beautiful flowers, trees, and animals if it weren't for God and the Creation.

I believe that Jesus is God's gift to me and it's him who shows me what God is like and he's the one who has provided me the way to a truly meaningful relationship with God. I believe that God is my home and will move with me while my journey of life continues and will welcome me in our world no matter what.  I really feel welcome here at North Raleigh United Church.  It's a wonderful community of faith that I've grown to love.  I really like the way we take the time to help others because we are reaching out our beliefs to other people and doing what Jesus and God do for us everyday.  I look forward to being a part of this church in the future and learn even more about God and what is done for us.  Thank you for being a part of me and helping me figure out who I am.

Jessica Long
I was having some trouble figuring out how to approach my statement of faith this week.  I wasn't satisfied with what I had intended to write because every certainty I wrote was something I've doubted at some point, every argument had a flip-side, and every promise sounded hollow. It was all academic.  I am very thankful for this church and the wonderful people that make it, and I want so badly to be honest with you- to go deeper than academic- to say something that I  know I believe in, to somehow express to you the innermost part of myself that is there behind all masks and pretenses.   I recently started to keep a journal of writings and thoughts.  I write things that are on my mind and images that I want to keep.  Some are poems, some are stories, some are just a stream of thought.  I think they describe a lot more about where my faith is right now than anything else I could say, so I'd like to share a few with you.

These first three entries have to deal with water, which I thought would be appropriate for baptism.  The first was inspired by the John's River retreat, the second by a dream and a sunrise over a pond, and the third I wrote after an evening on the Neuse River. 

Sinking

Everything's rushing, pushing
    in such a hurry to be done
  so eager to be worried about.
It's so easy to get caught in the swirls
like a leaf floating helplessly in the current.
But sometimes, you can sink to the bottom,
and watch the world floating by from that still perspective
from the bottom, up. 

Baptism

A lake is still and waiting in the quiet darkness. It radiates an aura of eternity- of countless years of soaking up sun and stars and rain. But today, it is suspended in waiting, like a silver droplet before it falls. But look, a ripple! From the depths of eternity, a head and shoulders rise up, breaking the surface and the slumber and the waiting. 
A ray of sun spills out over the brim of the world and dawn breaks golden on the dark waters, reaching out to touch the emerging figure with infant light. Water falls away from her as she rises intently into the sunshine. Her closed eyes open, and she gazes at her world with wonder, with an expression at once so wise and yet so innocent. Washed away is the dirt that clung to her when she entered a life time ago; the doubt, the guilt, the burden- all have gone. Born again! Awakened!
As she nears the shore her slow steps give way to joyful leaps, and at last her bare feet hit the ground dancing. She stops and stares at the lake before her, her eyes breath in the transformation. She lifts her voice in a song that must be shared. She turns from the lake and faces anew the path ahead. She came in search of holiness, she left having been made whole. 

River

I float.
drifting along through the sky
over clouds and under clouds
insulated snugly in infinity.

I glide.
soundlessly slipping through a tunnel of gold.
birch trees arch to hide me-
to hide me and guide me on my way.

there is a cave; a rock jutting over the water.
flowers crown it because they know it is beautiful.
sealed off in its reflected pocket
 I feel like a primal wonder.

the crickets sing with the birds
the chimes from a distant church float into hearing
I feel the mist and the sun beams
I ride the light.

exploring every possibility
I find miracles by keeping my eyes open without searching,
I delight in every detail
falling in love with life again. 

Here is a page I wrote when I was thinking about God and wondering how I could have faith in something that I wasn't sure existed. then I realized that I AM sure God exists because some things can't be explained any other way. 

Questions

What is it that makes us want to sing?
What is a thought made out of?
Why is a smile so beautiful?
What happened before time?
What is outside the universe?
What makes me need to search?

Ode to Jesus Christ

you knew.
you knew the question and the answer.
all I have are questions.
you loved.
you really, unfalteringly, and completely loved with your entire being.
a light for us to follow.
the lighthouse on a stormy sea
the north star. 

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