Dear family in Christ

We extend a very warm welcome to all our invited guests present today as family and friends of those who are confirmed.

(Dear guests, we hope that you will have a meaningful service. Please join us for fellowship lunch after the service.)

We rejoice with the 32 brothers and sisters in Christ who are confirmed today. We give thanks to Abba Father for his bountiful grace and mercy in calling them to Himself as His beloved children and faithful disciples of Jesus Christ. We thank God for those who have shared Jesus with the confirmands and also those who have discipled them in their faith journey.

In the Anglican Church, the rite of Confirmation is significant for three reasons.

1. It is for the strengthening of the believer for Christian life and witness and for ministry and service, by the empowering of the Holy Spirit through the laying on of hands by the bishop.
2. It is an opportunity for those baptized as children to confess their faith publicly and declare their baptismal vows personally, as previously undertaken on their behalf by their parents and godparents.
3. It is the receiving into full membership in a particular parish of the Diocese of Singapore and a declaration of their discipleship commitment together with the church community at St John’s Chapel.

As we witness the Confirmation today, may we be reminded of the baptismal vows that we promised God at our baptism. Let us honour our vows to live a Christ-centred godly life and to trust in God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Empowered by the Holy Spirit, let us walk close to Jesus and serve God faithfully in the work of His eternal kingdom, even as we await eagerly for the Return of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Maranatha
Pastor John