Many Hands Blessing the Future

This Sunday will be rich with celebrations! At the 9:30 worship hour, we will welcome new members into our congregation, and at the 11:00 service, we will share in the Confirmation of 31 young people into the Christian faith.

One of the elements in the Confirmation service is the "laying on of hands" for each confirmand, while a prayer for God's continued shaping of their lives is spoken. Laying on of hands occurs in the Bible, and is a symbol of blessing; of accepting to God's call upon the person's life; and of the giving of the Holy Spirit.

But other, "invisible hands" will be a part of the circle for each young person, too. All in the congregation are asked to pray for each young person in the moments of Confirmation. And those who have, through the years, been a spiritual influence on the youths - nursery caregivers, Sunday School and VBS teachers, youth ministers, neighbors, extended family members and older friends - are part of that circle of "invisible hands" too.

This year, our congregation will bless the confirmands with "invisible hands" in an additional way. Many of you have contributed to providing a special gift for each of the 8th grade students on their Confirmation Day - a teen/young adult study Bible that the Onward Bound teachers had begun to realize would be a great asset to the students' continued growth. That gift will be placed in the hands of each newly confirmed young person.

May these newest full members of the church use this, and all the gifts provided to them by their home families and church families, to become those whose hands, hearts, and lives bless, support, and encourage others in following Christ.