It is more difficult for the churches to share in celebrating the confirmation of interchurch children than to share in celebrating baptism. As early as the AIF conference at Spode House in 1972 the idea of a joint celebration of confirmation was raised, in those post-Vatican II days when everything seemed possible. A letter was sent to the British Council of Churches/Roman Catholic Joint Working Group asking for a study on confirmation. The subject of confirmation in interchurch families has been discussed by parents ever since. For well over a decade interchurch children themselves have talked about it.
Two years ago we recorded Karen MacRandal’s dual affirmation (Interchurch Families 1999, 7,1 p.14), and then Linda Buchanan’s dual confirmation (2000, 8,1, p.5). Sarah Mayles wrote about her desire for a joint confirmation in this journal (2000, 8,2, pp.8-9). Later Sarah wrote in the Interdependent, edited by and for interchurch children (no.21, October 2000): ‘I don’t think that joint confirmation is a realistic prospect for the near future, but I don’t want to wait so long that being confirmed is no longer significant to me. The important thing is that my confirmation feels “joint” to me.’
A shared celebration of confirmation
Early in 2001 an Anglican bishop took part in a celebration of confirmation
administered to two interchurch children in a Catholic church during the normal
Saturday evening vigil mass. It was a remarkable coincidence of the right people
being in the right place at the right time.
The two young adults had delayed their confirmation because they could not see how to recognise in the service the part that both the Church of England and the Roman Catholic Church had played in their Christian upbringing. Several years earlier they had followed preparation classes for confirmation in both church communities. They had talked with other young people brought up in interchurch families of the possibilities of a joint celebration of confirmation, but the idea had always seemed to present too many problems for the churches. They did not give up; they waited and kept on talking.
The confirmation of the two sisters, Sarah and Helena Mayles, was celebrated with great joy on 17th February 2001. It took place in their Catholic parish church, where the parish priest (until recently a vicar-general of the diocese) had been delegated by the bishop to administer the sacrament. It so happened that their Anglican vicar is a bishop, retired from an episcopal ministry in South America. He read the Gospel and preached a sermon at the celebration. He laid his hand as a sponsor on the shoulder of each candidate as they were confirmed, together with the Catholic sponsor that each had chosen.
Many representatives from their Anglican parish were present in the Catholic church. At the end of the celebration it was the Catholic priest who presented the newly-confirmed girls with copies of Common Worship and the Anglican bishop who presented them both with a Roman missal.
A joint celebration of affirmation
A month later, in different local circumstances but with a similar desire for
her two churches, Catholic and Anglican, to be involved in the ceremony, Laura
Finch arranged a joint Service of Affirmation on 18th March 2001. She had attended
the AIF Confirmation Weekend held in May 2000 (Interchurch Families 2001, 9,1
p.8). ‘Without the weekend, she wrote, I do not think I would have had
the information and preparation to create a service. At present I cannot be
confirmed by a bishop in a traditional confirmation service involving both churches,
but I have devised an Affirmation Service, which will be for me an important
step forward in the Christian faith.’
‘I wanted to show my two church communities that I was committed to church and God. I also felt it would deepen my relationship with God. I talked it over a lot with my parents and AIF mentor; they were very supportive and helpful. The next stage was to talk to my two priests. Both were very supportive although they had different ideas about what I should do.’
The service took place in Laura’s Anglican parish church, with both priests equally involved, and an address given by the AIF Youth Officer. Representatives of the two congregations, family and friends joined with Laura as she solemnly re-affirmed her baptismal faith in their presence. As for Sarah and Helena, it was an occasion of great joy for the interchurch young adults who came to support their friends, and for all involved.
A one-church confirmation
A few months earlier, a confirmation had taken place of an interchurch child
in one church that had not been experienced as cutting her off from the other.
Her Roman Catholic father wrote: ‘Our daughter was confirmed, at her request,
in the Anglican church, and despite her learning difficulties appears to have
had a simple, but firm, understanding of what she was doing. A few weeks beforehand
we had spoken with our Catholic parish priest and were astonished at his pastoral
sensitivity. In a nutshell he said that as she had asked for confirmation he
would worry if anything were done to put her off, as it could prejudice her
future journey in faith. He further said that her confirmation in the Anglican
Church did not mean that she was no longer a Catholic. Since, if one was being
tied by canon law, the Catholic Church did not recognise this as a valid sacrament,
as far as he was concerned she should continue to receive communion whenever
she comes to mass. It was a really joyous occasion.
9.2.3