The Lutheran Church celebrates two sacraments: Baptism and communion. While confirmation is not considered a sacrament, it is a traditional rite practiced in most Lutheran churches. Lutherans believe God imparts his grace through the sacrament of baptism. They believe God commanded believers to be baptized, and that Jesus himself was baptized as a sign of the new life given by the Holy Spirit. Conservative and moderate Lutherans differ on the exact meaning of baptism, with conservatives emphasizing the sinful nature of man, who must be born again and brought to the saving faith through the sacrament of baptism, while moderates emphasize the belief that baptism initiates new members into the family of God.
Lutherans practice infant baptism, most commonly by sprinkling with water. If an adult who has not been baptized in another Christian church wants to join the Lutheran church, she is baptized upon joining or sometime thereafter.
The parents of the child who is to be baptized generally meet with the pastor for instruction on the meaning and importance of the sacrament. They choose two people to be the baby's godparents. The godparents promise to help bring the child up in the faith, especially if the parents are not able to. During the baptismal liturgy, parents promise to raise the child in the faith, bring her to services and teach her the messages of the Bible. Confirmation became a separate rite under Pope Innocent I's influence in the fifth century.
Practices vary among churches. Young people study the meaning of Communion as part of three years of confirmation classes. The Rev. David Crockett of Cottonwood Presbyterian Church said its young people also attend a pre-confirmation class on history and teachings of the faith.
More important, though, he said, they develop their own faith statement about "who is Jesus Christ to you. Communicants meet before the session or the governing body of the church to give their faith statement and answer questions about their faith. He said Cottonwood Presbyterian just lowered its confirmation age to eighth grade. Some believe the age should be higher, he said, because older youths can develop a better faith statement.
We want to offer encouragement to make a faith statement at an earlier age. In the Catholic Church, confirmation is one of the seven sacraments - unlike the Protestant tradition, where it is not a sacrament. Thomas M. McGreevy, pastor of St. Catherine of Siena Parish, the University of Utah Newman Center, said there are many different ideas about the meaning of confirmation for Catholics.
In the early church, he said, people were typically baptized as adults and were confirmed at the same time. Since people now are usually baptized as infants, he said, practices regarding confirmation vary. In the United States, the age of confirmation was once about 8 or 9, then shifted to seventh or eighth grade. In his parish candidates are now asked to wait until they are 17 years old. However, in some parishes there's a reaction against this trend.
Some want to return the age to about 7, when the child first receives the Eucharist, he said. Start your day with the top stories you missed while you were sleeping. Cookie banner We use cookies and other tracking technologies to improve your browsing experience on our site, show personalized content and targeted ads, analyze site traffic, and understand where our audiences come from.
Every confirmand will be equipped to defend their faith in Jesus and be able to give reasons as to why they trust Jesus as their personal Savior. Every confirmand will understand their place in the body of Christ and the Christian church. Every confirmand will continue their faith journey as an active member of the body of Christ and the Christian church. Our confirmation model will support and partner with our youth program, not replace it.
What does the Confirmation Process Look Like? Students may begin confirmation beginning in their 8 th grade year. There is no set amount of time for this process as our format offers a flexible approach that allows students to advance at their own pace, either a traditional pace 3 years , faster, or slower if needed.
How do I register my child for a course? The order in which a student takes the units will vary, but the following guidelines must be followed: Intro to the Bible should be one of the first units to complete. The courses blue can be taken in any order. Christian Life and Discipleship should be taken as one of the final courses. Students can be working on a maximum of two units at one time.
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