Posted on 11/22/2006 3:42:35 PM PST by sionnsar
During my visit to Christ our Saviour Anglican Church in Alpine CA, the Rector Fr. Frank had scheduled the confirmations. All of the confirmands were there, except for Natalie. The service was over when Natalie was rushed into the church by her mom. Not that she overslept or had been partying as a typical teen might have done.
Natalie had a school commitment. She was one of the cheerleaders and a photo shoot had been scheduled that day. Natalie was one of the mainstay of the pyramid. So, when she came, she expressed that she was so torn between the two and did not want to miss the confirmation. Having rushed several miles to attempt to make it on time for confirmation and getting there only to realize it was over, you could imagine her predicament. Her eyes began to well up.
Just then the Rector and I decided that we would have a special service for her at the Senior Warden's Ranch where the new church, a barn, is being refurbished. We had a simple but solemn cofirmation in a beautiful outdoor southern Californian setting for Natalie. She was overjoyed. I can't stop bragging about this teenager for whom her faith meant so much.
That's what the church needs to be. Unfortunately, society and the secular world does not always honor Sunday as a Holy day and this becomes a conflict for many of our youth. The church needs to understand its faithful in accomodating their needs in these difficult situations. This youngster knew what she would have missed after having prepared herself for this Holy Sacrament of Confirmation. Well done good and faithful Natalie.
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Speak the truth in love. Eph 4:15
Yup.
That's putting it mildly.
Just this past Sunday after church it struck me while I was getting my food at the local Taco Bell how many kids in there were wearing their soccer or baseball uniforms, obviously having finished a game.
And it's not just sports. Around my house we refer to the high school marching band as the Anti-Christ's band.
Maybe I'm reading more into it than I should, but if her faith meant so much to her, why didn't she just go to the Confirmation?
Isn't the spiritual supposed to transcend the earthly?
It seems to me she was trying to resolve the conflict for mutually beneficial ends. Such as whether the group picture includes a crucial element or not.
One could say she should make a stand: "Sunday Morning, I'm not there." (My wife and I have made that stand with an organization we belong to -- Sunday morning, we're not there. Hasn't changed their policies/timing.)
Knowing the conflict my church's teens deal with (and the lack of the church's preparation for dealing with same), I think she did well. But I also think the church needs to put more effort into this.
Maybe I'm a bit testy given what I have seen lately. There were kids camping out for at least 24 hours, maybe more, to be at the head of the line to purchase the latest video game console, but it's too much of an effort/sacrifice to get to Mass on Sunday.
Don't read too much into it, at 46, it is sometimes hard for me to remember about the social pressures of the teenage years. Kudos to the church for allowing the young lady's Confirmation.
Was there a bishop involved?
Yes. A year or two back Fr. Leo Michael became Bishop Leo Michael in the UECNA.
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