NEW YORK: Confirmation class prompts commitment for large number of parishioners

April 27, 2007 [Episcopal News Service] Episcopal Diocese of New York Bishop Mark S. Sisk will administer the rites of confirmation, reception and reaffirmation to more than 100 parishioners at St. Bartholomew's Church in New York City on April 29.

According to a parish news release, the large number of parishioners scheduled for confirmation, reception and reaffirmation is a result of a parish-wide confirmation course taught by St. Bart's rector, the Rev. William McD. Tully, and other clergy during the five weeks of Lent. The course covered the sacraments, the Bible, the creeds and how these pieces fit into the Episcopal way of "doing Christianity."

The course, open to parishioners interested in confirmation as well as those who wanted a "refresher course" or those who were originally from other branches of Christianity, drew more than 130 parishioners, according to the release.

"St. Bart's has worked hard to maintain a serious engagement with the tradition and with strong discipleship in Christ," Tully said in the release. "In these anxious times of real tensions among Anglicans, what better time for people who have learned that radical inclusion and tradition are not incompatible to step forward and commit?"

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