St. Mary’s Parish Church in The Valley was crowded to capacity on Sunday, January 20. Among the congregation were a number of male and female young people and their sponsors, whose predominantly white apparel readily identified them as candidates for Confirmation.
The occasion was a Confirmation Serviceduring which fifty-nine boys and girls were confirmed after two years of spiritual and doctrinal preparation. It was the third such service in the Parish within the past few days. The other two services were held the previous Sunday at St. Andrew’s, Island Harbour, and St. Augustine’s, East End, where twelve and twenty-three young people respectively were confirmed into the Anglican faith.
The Confirmation Services were presided over by Bishop Errol Brooks. Confirmation is regarded as one of the most important aspects of the ministry of the Church in reaching out to its young people and engaging them into a life-long spiritual re-commitment.
In earlier years, confirmation was administered by a visiting Bishop, working at the St. John’s Cathedral in Antigua, who travelled throughout the Diocese to confirm persons into the membership of the Church as part of his duties. That process was reversed with the appointment of Bishop Brooks who opted to remain in his native Anguilla serving as both Priest and Bishop and travelling throughout the Diocese in the latter capacity.
Just before delivering his sermon to the large congregation at St. Mary’s, Bishop Brooks devoted his introductory remarks to explaining the sacrament of confirmation. “Let me impress on you, candidates, that this is not a graduation exercise,” he said. “This is only one step in your Christian journey. When you were baptised, your parents, and Godparents, made promises on your behalf. Among those promises was this: that when the time came they would see to it that you were brought to the Bishop for confirmation.
“Your parents and Godparents have kept their part of the bargain. You are here this morning to be confirmed. But I also wish to say to you that you too are going to make promises this morning. In other words, you are going to make promises to yourselves. You are going to say yes to Jesus Christ. I hear it branded across the waves, so often, that in the Anglican Church you do not get an opportunity to make a commitment to Jesus Christ. Nothing is further from the truth and this morning is about making a commitment to Jesus.
“Whenever we have the Service of Holy Baptism, opportunity is given to the community of the faith, witnessing those baptisms, to re-affirm, to re-commit to Jesus Christ…We have to be re-committing ourselves to Christ all the time.”
Later, during his sermon, Bishop Brooks said that there were lovely children in Anguilla who were crying out for guidance and support. “I appeal to parents to take some time to think about your responsibilities to those whom God has blessed you with,” he admonished. “Spend time with them. Listen to them. They have issues. They are seeking direction. Do not just dismiss them. They need your help and when they happen to step out of line, correct them lovingly. Do not support them in wrongdoing. Many of our children are confused because they are hearing mixed messages.
“The Church is trying its best to lead them into the right way. The school is trying its best…but so often the church and school are not being supported by the home. This is about partnership. It is about formation by building our youngsters to be good citizens and to be positive in life.”
On February 3, Bishop Brooks will be in Antigua for a Confirmation Service there.
