The only church bulletin I have ever saved is hanging in my closet just to the left of my dress shirts. The bulletin is dated April 20, 1994, and the slightly yellowing paper is complemented nicely by the early '90s font.

This bulletin, which I have treasured for over 30 years, was a keepsake from my confirmation service at Highland United Methodist Church when I was 12 years old. This worship service marked the moment where I became a professing church member and took on the responsibility of discipleship for myself. Much like a newly licensed teenager leaving the DMV, through confirmation I felt permission to plot my own course of faith.

While the experience of confirmation was new to me, its practice dates to the early church, where apostles such as Peter and Paul laid hands on new believers to invoke God’s blessing in a new and fuller way (Acts 8:14-17, 19:1-7). Often in his writings, Paul stresses the importance of believers being sealed with the Spirit (2 Cor. 1:20; Eph. 1:13, 4:30).

During confirmation, young people are given the opportunity to both reaffirm the promises made on their behalf during their baptism, as well as claim the gift of discipleship for themselves through offering their prayers, presence, gifts, service, and witness. Additionally, during confirmation, the entire church community reaffirms both its commitment to Christ and its continued promise to nurture these young people in their faith.

The reason I keep my confirmation bulletin in the closet is to remind me I am not alone in this journey of faith. As I get ready each day, I draw strength and courage from the promises made to me by the body of Christ.

This Sunday, March 17, our church will make similar promises to our 8th graders as we celebrate our own confirmation Sunday. I hope you will be present in body or spirit as we invoke God’s full blessing upon these young people and remind them: You are not alone in this journey of faith. 

Grace and Peace, 

Pastor David

Enrich Our Community's Experience of Holy Week

We have many volunteer opportunities with Maundy Thursday and Good Friday services, as well as four Easter services on March 31. Please sign up here to help during Holy Week with greeting, ushering, serving communion, or helping set up Easter breakfast. Your service will enable our community to feel the presence of Jesus during this holiest of weeks.

You have been scraping your food waste and compostable dinnerware into our compost bins located by the kitchen and in the coffee bar. Thank you! But many of you have wanted to know what happens next.

First, our fantastic kitchen staff removes the bags of compost and places them in the large compost cans provided by CompostNow, a local compost service with whom we have contracted to collect our compostables. In the early hours of Thursday mornings, CompostNow trucks pick up the filled compost cans and deposit new, clean cans.

The compostables are dropped off at a commercial compost processor. Large processors can compost more items than what you would traditionally put in your backyard compost pile, including meat, bones, dairy, bread, pasta, prepared foods, pizza boxes, and compostable dinnerware and utensils. However, they do not process plastic, so make sure NO plastic ends up in our compost bins, please!

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