Confirmation Journey 2021

Confirmation Journey:  Living Out Our Faith and Building Interfaith Bridges

Confirmation Sunday is May 23

As part of the Confirmation journey, the youth are often asked: what does it mean to live out our faith?  To answer that question, we brought them to Adams Morgan to visit with amazing community leaders who run faith-inspired non-profits to serve the poor and working poor.

On March 21, they met with Terry Flood of Jubilee Jobs and Jim Knight and Marty Mellett of Jubilee Housing.  The leaders each shared their faith story, why faith has compelled them into the work they are doing.  In three different groups, they took the confirmands and their mentors on a tour of the Adams Morgan neighborhood where their non-profits serve the poor and working poor residents in this highly gentrified neighborhood.

The youth saw the beautiful and dignified apartment buildings owned by Jubilee Housing.  They peeked in on the dance studio at the Sitar Community Arts center.  They learned about the ministry to provide a welcome and strong foundation for people returning home from prison. They learned from a resident at the Kairos House about the healing he received from Christ House.  To paraphrase Matthew 25, to honor God is to serve those who most need our help.  These leaders truly embody this message.

On Sunday, May 9, the confirmands will build bridges with our interfaith siblings at the Guru Gobind Singh Foundation, a Sikh faith community in Rockville, MD.  There they will volunteer at their pandemic drive-thru food pantry which serves more than 2000 people each Sunday.  They will attend a prayer service and attend an education session to learn more about the Sikh religion.  We are grateful for the warm welcome we have received from Guru Gobind.   We also stand with them in opposition to the violence and racism they have endured in America, most recently evidenced in the shootings in Indianapolis.

Confirmation Sunday is May 23. We hope you can join us.  Each of these confirmands has brought their whole self into learning about God, the Bible, and what it means to live out our Christian faith in a world that is in such great need for healing and justice.  We are thankful to the mentors for guiding them these last three months, for Rev. Amanda for shepherding their journey, and for Rev. Sam for planning these two meaningful experiences.