Walk In Love

An Introduction to the Episcopal (Anglican) Way of Following Jesus

Bishop Matt will be convening a regional service for confirmation and receptions into The Episcopal Church on the afternoon of May 18, 2025 (location TBD). In preparation for that visit, we will be offering an Episcopal 101 course on Wednesday evenings at 7:00 p.m., beginning March 26.

Of course, this class is structured to prepare folks for receptions and confirmations on May 18, but it is open to any curious person. I am certain, even if you have spent your whole life in the Episcopal Church, you will gain fresh insight into how we approach being Jesus’s disciples.

Our guiding text will be Walk in Love by the Rev. Scott Gunn and the Rev. Melody Wilson Shobe. You can find the book at any large bookseller. (If you need a scholarship to purchase the text, please let me know.)

If you choose to attend, we would like you to commit to making as many sessions as possible. Perfect attendance is not a requirement, but consistent attendance will help you gain the full blessing of these discussions.

What is confirmation? How is it different from reception?

(What I am about to put here is an oversimplification of a very complicated topic. However, I think you will get the gist. Reach out if you would like to have a more thorough conversation about the theology of Confirmation.)

The short answer about confirmation is that it is a rite that provides a moment for a person to make a mature* profession of their faith in public. In The Episcopal Church, these professions are made in front of a bishop since the bishop is our connection to the wider community of faith. In a sense you are making this profession not just in front of those present in the location where the rite takes place, but also in front of the entire company of the faithful.

The answer of how Reception differs from Confirmation varies from bishop to bishop. Bishop Matt practices a fairly straightforward, traditional, and consistent approach to these rites. Bishop Matt receives folks who have been confirmed in another Christian tradition. There are several Christian traditions that practice confirmation in a similar way to The Episcopal Church. If you have come from a Christian tradition—also, there are many of them—that does not practice confirmation, Bishop Matt will confirm you.

*This is the word that the Book of Common Prayer uses in its description of the rite.