It's been confirmed....

Today was  big day for us...  The Boy got confirmed by the Bishop, and Darling Man was received into the church as a member.  It was a somewhat last-minute affair.  Just before I rejoined the church last year there was to be a visit from the Bishop - but he'd just had surgery and was stuck in California recovering and then our own priest was having surgery too - so it just didn't happen.  There was a Good Friday visit, but that wasn't really the time to have confirmations, so this was the first opportunity that there was and we're not sure when there will be another.  There were 11 confirmands,1 baptism,  2 receptions and 1 reaffirmation.  Assisting Bishop Charles Keyser had his work cut out for him!

I remember my own confirmation rather vaguely.  I recall classes held outside on the grass (it was the mid-70s and the thing to do) with Fr. Perry, our young assistant rector.  And I remember the Bishop's hands on my head as he blessed me.  And the silver celtic cross I was given that still lives in my jewelry box.  But that's about it.  I do remember it as a day that began my true life in the church though.  I no longer resented being made to be a part of that organization as I'd made friends and actually felt that I had a place there.

My own boy confessed to feeling like singing all day.  I take that as a good sign.

I invited my parents to come.  They had been members of my church for a long, long time before moving out of town and taking up with the church closer to them in Quincy.  At one point, my mom leaned over to me during the service and said it was good to be back in Advent - that this place had magic in it again.  (There was a time when it didn't, but I won't go into that in this post.)  I have to agree and it's one of the reasons I made Advent my church home now.

It was a joyful service, serious but not too solemn.  Bishop Keyser gave a lovely sermon and then got down to the business of blessing everyone in their various categories.  I was so proud of my son, who had previously expressed misgivings about doing this, when he stood up and in a very firm voice that carried well, responded to the Bishop's questions of renouncing evil and taking Jesus as his Savior and Lord.  My husband also had to respond to those questions and he also did it in a way that made me proud.  My guys aren't afraid to stand up and say it.

When it was our turn, Z went up to be confirmed.  Darling Man, my parents and I went up there to put our hands on his shoulders in a show of support as the Bishop blessed him.  Then Z and DM changed places and we did it again.  Z was presented with a prayer book of his own and both Z and DM received a beautiful little terracotta cross, handmade in Cuba by people in our sister church there.

My husband says that when he's in church, he finds his eyes drawn repeatedly to the depiction of the dove in the stained glass window, symbolizing the Holy Spirit.  These crosses were given at random and all are different.  So it was interesting and somewhat eerie that his cross was one with a dove.

My son's favorite part of the service is communion.  Guess what was depicted on HIS cross?

Dad is very pleased that Darling Man has been received into the church.  For him this just reaffirms that DM and I were meant to be together, sharing our lives AND our faith.

I love this picture.  ZBoy and two of his friends who were also confirmed today. 

There was a reception afterwards with lots of wonderful food - all finger foods - and punch...  Dad offered to take us all to lunch to celebrate and after some dithering, we wound up at Ted's Montana Grill, which specializes in dishes prepared with bison as opposed to beef (though beef is an option).  The idea of eating bison was completely new to the Boy, but he gamely chose bison sliders as his lunch..

...and declared them delicious!  Best thing ever.  I had bison meatloaf with mashed potatoes and a squash casserole; DM had a New Mexico burger; Mom had cream of tomato soup and salad, and Dad ordered something called the All-American burger.  It was hard to imagine from the description, and once it showed up, it was hard to imagine just how such a thing would be eaten.

It was huge!  I couldn't see how that could be conveyed to the mouth without half of it dropping back down onto the plate.  Luckily, Dad has huge hands... big enough to handle that burger!  However, once started, you cannot put it down and hope to get it back up in one piece, so when not actively eating it, he just held it over his plate. 

It was a lovely day, with lovely people...  and after lunch, I went home and had a lovely nap.