Empowered through the Grace of God

to love, lead, and serve

Greetings to you all! This month we look forward to new members through Holy Baptism, new members through the Affirmation of their faith, and a time of celebration in the resurrection life! Every year that we prepare our 8th graders to Affirm their Faith, I begin to remember my own confirmation…in the 9th grade!!! I had attended a church where confirmation began in the 6th grade and then we moved and attended a church that began confirmation classes in the 7th grade! So, I had three years of the classes. I remember when we were told that we were to prepare for questions at our confirmation and then come to find out we were all assigned one and the answer! Not sure what that did for us…but we were a large class and anything else would have required a weekend event! I remember the new dress and shoes and then having to wear a white robe that reminded us of our Baptism. We are connected by water and the word. We are born again in robes of glory through the resurrection of our Savior. And now, as a congregation we get to participate as children and adults affirm their faith through the waters of Baptism…by different means though!

Remember this?

As you bring your children to receive the gift of baptism, you are entrusted with responsibilities:

• to live with them among God's faithful people,
• bring them to the word of God and the holy supper,
• teach them the Lord's Prayer, the Creed, and the Ten Commandments,
• place in their hands the holy scriptures,
• and nurture them in faith and prayer, so that your children may learn to
  • trust God,
  • proclaim Christ through word and deed,
  • care for others and the world God made,
  • and work for justice and peace.

Do you promise to help your children grow in the Christian faith and life?

These were the words spoken to the congregation by the pastor at Holy Baptism. Now, not only will we hear these words again as we baptize but we will remember them as our 8th grade youth affirm their faith. Our students all have done well, all you faithful servants. Through struggles, questions, fatigue and celebrations…and even some days with so much energy…these young people have come through as they have grown in their faith, created new friendships, included family and adults and attended church as best as they could on their own.

Now, congregation…now is the time to continue to nurture these young folks by inviting them into an active relationship with our congregation through advocacy, volunteerism, worship volunteers, fellowship activities, Bible Studies, creating their own ministries for the sake of the Gospel and any other possibilities led by the Spirit. Their relationship as a voting member of our congregation will change all of us and that is exciting! And as many of us are no longer in confirmation class this does not mean that we have “graduated” but it means that we have just started AGAIN!!!!

I encourage you to reach out to our new families, newly baptized, and newly affirmed members here at Cross of Christ…AND…I encourage you to reach beyond these walls as you continue to share the excitement of what it means to be a child of the risen Lord!

Please keep Toni and Chip Cone and their children, Luke and Sophie as they prepare for Holy Baptism. Also we add Sara Jaskowski and Austin Feeley to our prayer list as they prepare for Holy Baptism. And pray for our confirmands: Mackenzie Harrington (Mentor: Kasi Meckstroth); Alana Honaker (Mentor: Brigitte Pemberton); Brendan Smith (Mentor: Marilynn Smith) who will affirm their faith on Sunday, May 20th at the 10am service.

Pastor Sherry McGuffin
PastorSherry@sbcglobal.net