Bishop of Barbadian Anglican Diocese, Reverend Michael Bruce St John Maxwell held his first confirmation service this morning urging the confirmation candidates to continue to walk the path of righteousness.
At the service held at the Cathedral of St Michael and All Angels, Reverend Maxwell confirmed 15 parishioners from the St Michael’s Row, Bridgetown church.
He reminded them their journey with God was ongoing and did not conclude with today’s service. He noted that quite often parishioners did not return to church following the service.
“There is the unfortunate trend that many after they have been confirmed see it as a validation to leave the church,” said the Bishop.
“Very often there is the tendency that you have been instructed, you know the faith, you have been brought up and you don’t need any more nourishment but no, you need every bit of nourishment every Sunday to continue to nourish you in the faith,” he said.
He encouraged the congregation to pray regularly and to attend church every Sunday as it was the ideal means to “experience God in a special way”.
“We should always have that great longing, that great desire to come to church to come in the Lord’s house, to assemble regularly with fellowship of other believers, for this is what is best for us,” Reverend Maxwell stated.
He urged the confirmation candidates to “always hunger or desire” to spend time with God and set aside time for worship.
“I love church because coming into the special presence of God reminds me of who I am and whose we are as a family of God and it also reminds me of who God is, that God is in control of my life, the one who I can depend on [and] the one who can strengthen us, who is there for us when others are not there for us,” the Reverend said.
It was a beautiful service
Can someone explain to me what is confirmation.
Confirmation means you need to face a good spiritual awakening one day. The bones…. head hard.
@Anthony – OK…..MAN MADE doctrine and philosophy. keeping the lost sheep lost.
If u r in the church what awakening do u need or expect to get??? And awakened to what exactly??
@Anthony W – let me help u out buddy. Confirmation means that you are confirming that u r lost and that u r more than likely going to stay lost/doomed/dupe and things of this nature. Hope this helps.
For what it is worth let me make some corrections to titles in the article. The title for a bishop in the Anglican tradition is Right Reverend (Rt. Rev.) or Bishop, not just Reverend. The word ‘Reverend’ is an adjective, not a noun (Like the word Honourable). So it is incorrect to talk about a Reverend. In good English, the term Reverend (Rev.) should be used with a first name or initials before the last name. For example: Rev. John Brown or the Rev. J. Brown. Other examples would be the Rev. Father Jones or the Rev. Mother Jones, The Rev. Mr. Jones, the Rev. Ms. Jones. In addition, again in the Anglican tradition, the Dean of a Cathedral is the ‘Very Reverend’, or in addressing him or her, simply Mr. Dean or Ms.(Mrs.) Dean. The title for an Archbishop is the ‘Most Reverend’, and if addressed in person, “Your Grace” Also,not every denomination
has priests, so general terms that may be used for ordained persons are: Minister, Pastor, Priest (Anglican, Roman, Orthodox), Cleric, Clergyperson, etc. but not Reverend. I hope this information could be useful for journalists in particular.
Let me answer Anthony Watson’s question which seems to be a serious desire for information about Confirmation. In the Anglican teaching which are always biblically based, there are 7 articles of the faith which are called Sacraments: Baptism, Confirmation, Holy Communion, Holy Matrimony, Holy Orders, Holy Penitence, Holy Unction. Confirmation is the follow-up to Baptism. At the Baptism of an infant, the parents and god-parents make confessions of faith and vows on behalf of the infant. When that infant reaches the ‘age of discretion’, or the stage where he or she knows the difference between right and wrong, and can be responsible for his or her spiritual life, he or she ‘confirms’ and is ‘confirmed’. Confirmation is
therefore the occasion when the person ‘confirms’ or agrees with the vows made on his or her behalf at Baptism, and also when he or she ‘is confirmed’ or strengthened by the Holy Spirit through the laying on of the Bishop’s hands. So Confirmation is of double importance. That is the Anglican way. Other denominations have their own way of accomplishing the same purpose, which to lead the person into a closer relationship with the Lord.
Thanks for explaining the question as asked.St Augustine Barbados.
Thanks Rev. Canon.
There is still hope for you Jennifer and you too Anthony Watson, as long as your station is among the living, you have a chance to achieve the ultimate….Everlasting Life with your creator. It seems to me, that both of you are brainwashed into opposing anything called religion, even though there are so many things that exist around you, that you or I CANNOT accurately provide the answers to. Good luck in your confusion of the web. And Canon, I wish you would text more on this blog to explain more, from an Anglican perspective. People need to see through the smoke.
Did god ordained this ritual cannon? please give me a BIBLICAL chapter and verse. Or did “god” ordain those feast days that people like u got this majority people celebrating?? What r god’s HOLY FEAST DAYS Cannon. And why r u not encouraging people to do them? What is righteousness Cannon?
How can u people swallow MAN philosophy and cannot swallow the little book. So lame. NONE of what u say is scriptural cannon. What is bent will remain bent. Do u know that u MUST be elected to obtain GRACE?? A person cannot seek god, he seeks them, like he did moses, ezekiel, Samuel, Jacob, Abraham etc. There is an order of things Cannon. EZekiel 37 is currently in the making.
1 John 3:4 KJV – Sin is the transgression of the law. So what is righteousness—–> DOING THE LAW – What law? the same one from the very beginning which was given to Moses. Matthew 5:17. Just in case someone get slick and say the law was fulfilled. He fulfilled ONLY the SACRIFICIAL law – NUTTING else.
At every corner is a church and yet this people is in great despair where ever they are SCATTERED (think)? Why is that??? The ones who in the churches riddled in sickness i.e cancer etc, The Sky is amber early and at even and the fishers and hunters are out. Take heed.
Wow Jennifer, the good news of God really fired you up.
You even type God with a common g. There is one thing I’d like you to do to convince me of your sincerity to that other guy.
Please sign a writ stating that when you finally lay flat on your back and helpless, you do NOT want any Pastor or Priest sprinkling Holy Water on your casket and praying for your troubled soul. Let the writ state also that you want to be lowered into your castle without any ritual by anybody religious.
You promise to do that for me Jennifer ?
God is simply love. This means we enlighten ourselves to develop, be successful personally and hence the nation will also be. Doing all this while showing each other kindness, respect, empathy, sympathy and doing as unto others as we would like them to do unto us.Once we make that divine connection we would have wisdom to understand our historical, social and economic conditions.We will be able to see the truth of all the things that affect us and keep us down and because we are in divine mode we understand what to do to develop our selves, our nation our race. God is not religion. Each one of us can be God in action if we allow it.
There is no Biblical warrant for confirmation as practiced in the Anglican church.
Also according to the NT, there are two ordinances of the church These are baptism by immersion of born again believers, and the breaking of bread or communion.
Thank u lswiltshire. Johnny god is dog backward. Figure that one. And go look up the meaning of Baal. What does the Bishop hat look like. Look real hard Johnny. Get an Ariel view. Wake up sir Johnny.
You will be in my prayers Jennifer, every letter of your name.
But will you sign that writ I spoke about earlier, or are you just talk.
THERE IS A NEED TO UNDERSTAND THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BIBLE DOCTRINE( I.E WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS BY A RIGHT DIVIDING OF THE WORD OF TRUTH IN ITS CONTEXT AS MANDATED BY 2 TIM 2:15) AND….
CHURCH DOGMA OR TRADITIONAL DENOMINATIONAL PRACTICES OF MEN.
WHERE DOES IT SAY IN THE NT THAT EARLY BELIEVERS OBSERVED LENT, OR HELD STATIONS OF THE CROSS, OR WERE CONFIRMED OR ANY OF THE JUNK CITED BY THE DR CANON WHO CAN NOT BOOM?
THIS IS WHAT ACTS 2:41-42 SAYS ABOUT THE EARLY CHURCH PRACTICE
Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.
And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.
I don’t get into all the passages and books of the Bible as many would do. A person either believe, or they don’t, period. It is their soul; I have mine and I believe. Good luck to the gamblers.Rasta’s call theirs a religion and have their rituals smoking weed. To me it is more a way of life for them and not a religion. As a Christian, I get high off the word of God, I do not have to do anything else. Drinking a shot of brandy or so is not needed. But I still want Jennifer to consider that writ then i will know she is serious. She should state that she does not want here family to engage the services of a Pastor or Priest at her funeral. No singing of hymns nothing.
All praises. Preach sister lwiltshire. Not only that the nation of isreal or Jacob was placed back into servitude as said by deut 30 and the said told them would also happen to them for following the other nations. Solomon also said a pray for them in kings 8. But this people do not like to research,
READ or ask questions. Just follow like sheep. Now Johnny I was in an Anglican church for yrs until….. And if I could just be buried with no flowers in the cemetry without all this nonsense I would be most greatful. NONE OF THAT MATTERS johnny. Do u know Johnny that this yr is 400yrs this people was under the said keep down? Go and read johnny.
The letter j came in about 450yrs ago. So start thinking. Where there is a J was supposed to be a y. Thr first slave ship was called the JESUS of lubeck. Listen , the jig is up. Why would god tell Moses and yoshua etc to “WRITE IT DOWN IN A BOOK”? I hope johnny that u r wearing ur beared??? As the “Lord stated a black man should and not like me being a woman.
I’m a Christian. These comments embarrass me. Yes, contend for the faith but this back and forth does not look Christ-like. What have you left for the unbeliever? Christ is coming for ONE church; not a denomination but those who are truly believers at heart. We have differences; yes. My ear is not like my eye yet they are both equally part of my body. We are all at different levels of maturity and understanding just like babies and adults are different. Yet a baby is no less classified a human than an adult. Just a different stage of being human. So if a brother may not be as mature; not yet have grasped as much; it doesn’t make him/ her less of a brother or sister. And another thing – family disputes take place in house; not in public. Romans 14 mentions Christians who have different beliefs in some things. But the foundation – the only foundation is still Jesus. I was confirmed; later baptized as I see it in Scripture but I didn’t love God any less on either occasion. My humble submission. May it be received in the spirit it was meant to be. God bless.
Jennifer is all talk, that’s all. Bluff !
John Crow, thanks for the suggestion that I write more on this blog. I would be happy to do so for the benefit of any who might be interested in the teaching of the Anglican Church.
To LSWiltshire I say that even after I have studied the Bible in its languages of Hebrew and Greek for over 60 years I still do not know everything, but I know enough to say that quotations from the Bible taken out of context can be misleading. This brings me therefore to what the Bible says or does not say about denominations and their interpretation of its message, which is to love God through Jesus Christ, and love our neighbours as ourselves. No one denomination has a monopoly on the truth about having a closer relationship with the Lord. So often we feel that our denomination is the only ‘right’ one. How wrong we are! Let me offer an analogy here to help in understanding the existence of so many different denominations: Let us suppose that we want to get from the Airport to Bridgetown. We can use different routes and different methods of getting there; but our common objective is to reach Bridgetown. Similarly, we as human beings have our different tastes in colour, food dress, music, religion, etc. So it does not matter what form of worship we use as long as that worship is meaningful to us in our effort to have a closer relationship with the Lord and so brings us salvation.
To Jennifer I say, I will be willing to have dialogue with you if you are serious, and your questions are clear. Shalom!