This past weekend across the country and within our church family there were a host of graduation ceremonies and celebrations – some high school, some college, some grad school – recognizing years of hard academic work and preparing for new beginnings. Congratulations to all of them! This past weekend we also recognized our confirmands who, having completed the confirmation class, offered professions of faith and joined the church. For them, this is a time to recognize the thoughtful, prayerful reflection that has led them to profess faith in Jesus Christ and commit to continue their journey together with this Covenant family. It does not mean they have it all figured out – none of us do; faith is a lifelong journey in which we wrestle with hard questions, significant doubts, and challenging circumstances across a lifetime. The church is not a haven for the saints who have all the answers; it is a hospital for sinners and a community of believers committed to wrestling with the questions and supporting one another as we travel this journey together, trusting God to lead us along the way. Have you given any thought lately to what you believe and where you are on your journey of faith? Like our confirmands, elders present statements of their faith to Session; for some who have been previously ordained, this requires reflection on how their faith has changed in the intervening years – and it does change! Faith grows; doubts arise; and perspectives are altered. What is important to you at one point in life may seem less so at another as new priorities and questions arise. What then do you believe now about God, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, the Bible, the Church, forgiveness, salvation, and vocation – to name just a few aspects of our faith? If a child asked what you believe, what might you say? Christian formation is about wrestling with those questions and more across a lifetime. It happens in classes and Bible studies, but also in outreach projects and worship, and day-to-day living. We are shaped by saints of all ages who show us what living the faith looks like and by news reports that raise troubling questions for us about how God is at work in an often messy world. Faith is a journey, not a destination, and we have committed to travel that road together. We don’t graduate; we are lifelong learners, but we are also teachers and exemplars for others along the way. Don’t shirk that responsibility and opportunity! Embrace it, and in so doing, may you find your faith growing day to day, side by side with all of us on this journey together!
– John Peterson
