WEBVTT 00:00:03.119 --> 00:00:05.519 Hello everyone and welcome to this week's episode 00:00:05.519 --> 00:00:09.000 of Trinity Talks. My name is Kyla and I am sitting 00:00:09.000 --> 00:00:12.140 down here with Rob and with Jen and we're going 00:00:12.140 --> 00:00:14.519 to chat a little bit about this thing that we 00:00:14.519 --> 00:00:17.579 do in the Anglican Church called confirmation 00:00:17.579 --> 00:00:22.140 or reception and what that is and why it matters. 00:00:22.199 --> 00:00:24.719 And actually, I think it's going to be a good 00:00:24.719 --> 00:00:26.660 conversation. I think there's lots of cool things 00:00:26.660 --> 00:00:30.420 to think about here. But Rob, to get us started, 00:00:30.559 --> 00:00:33.960 what is confirmation and reception? Well, you're 00:00:33.960 --> 00:00:36.700 actually forgetting there's three. There's confirmation, 00:00:36.920 --> 00:00:39.820 reception, and reaffirmation. And so here's the 00:00:39.820 --> 00:00:42.439 deal. There are certain kind of rites of passage 00:00:42.439 --> 00:00:47.159 in the life of the church that... are led and 00:00:47.159 --> 00:00:50.560 specifically led by a bishop. So I'm a priest 00:00:50.560 --> 00:00:53.820 in the church. I can do things like baptism and 00:00:53.820 --> 00:00:55.840 funerals and weddings and stuff like that. But 00:00:55.840 --> 00:01:01.250 bishops have a role to... to do these three other 00:01:01.250 --> 00:01:03.369 things. And so we can only do those three things 00:01:03.369 --> 00:01:04.790 when the bishop comes to visit. And the bishop 00:01:04.790 --> 00:01:07.730 is coming to visit on November 17th. So you're 00:01:07.730 --> 00:01:11.209 asking, what are they? One, confirmation. Confirmation 00:01:11.209 --> 00:01:14.609 is for people who've been baptized, usually as 00:01:14.609 --> 00:01:17.909 infants or as young people. But they've come 00:01:17.909 --> 00:01:19.569 to a point in their life where they would like 00:01:19.569 --> 00:01:21.689 to kind of now stand up and make their own profession 00:01:21.689 --> 00:01:24.189 of faith as someone who's grown up a bit and 00:01:24.189 --> 00:01:26.709 someone who can kind of grasp these truths for 00:01:26.709 --> 00:01:30.349 themselves. So it's kind of like you're, A grown 00:01:30.349 --> 00:01:33.069 up way of saying yes to God, whereas maybe your 00:01:33.069 --> 00:01:35.450 parents said yes to God for you when you're baptized 00:01:35.450 --> 00:01:38.090 as a little one. So that's kind of maybe that's 00:01:38.090 --> 00:01:39.969 I think that's what confirmation is. And actually, 00:01:40.670 --> 00:01:43.129 I wrote down a few things. When the bishop lays 00:01:43.129 --> 00:01:46.409 his hands on your head during confirmation, this 00:01:46.409 --> 00:01:49.569 is what he says. He says, strengthen, O Lord, 00:01:49.769 --> 00:01:53.480 your servant with your Holy Spirit. empower them 00:01:53.480 --> 00:01:56.859 for your service and sustain them all the days 00:01:56.859 --> 00:02:00.239 of their life. Okay. Pretty powerful. Yeah. Holy 00:02:00.239 --> 00:02:03.500 spirit stuff. Yeah. Big stuff. Yeah. Reception, 00:02:03.680 --> 00:02:06.000 I think probably this is the one that the fewest 00:02:06.000 --> 00:02:08.280 people would probably be interested in, but reception 00:02:08.280 --> 00:02:11.000 is when you've already been confirmed in some 00:02:11.000 --> 00:02:13.360 other tradition, Roman Catholic, Lutheran, United. 00:02:13.620 --> 00:02:16.240 What other churches do confirmations? Do Baptists 00:02:16.240 --> 00:02:18.460 do confirmations? They don't, but if someone 00:02:18.460 --> 00:02:22.099 was baptized as an adult, like if they were 20 00:02:22.099 --> 00:02:24.800 -something when they got baptized, then would 00:02:24.800 --> 00:02:27.680 they be confirmed or would they be received? 00:02:29.469 --> 00:02:31.930 Reaffirmation, maybe? I don't know. That's a 00:02:31.930 --> 00:02:35.849 really good question. I think if you were from 00:02:35.849 --> 00:02:39.409 a tradition, you were baptized as an adult, the 00:02:39.409 --> 00:02:42.650 bishop would probably lay his hands on your head. 00:02:42.729 --> 00:02:46.729 And it might be some kind of an amalgam. between 00:02:46.729 --> 00:02:49.610 the two. To say like, now I'm choosing the Anglican 00:02:49.610 --> 00:02:52.210 church as my sort of church home. Yes. And I've 00:02:52.210 --> 00:02:54.729 also never been confirmed. So this is still a 00:02:54.729 --> 00:02:56.650 legit confirmation. I'm going to get a confirmation 00:02:56.650 --> 00:03:00.050 certificate and all that jazz. So yeah, I would 00:03:00.050 --> 00:03:02.090 say that kind of two things would happen. But 00:03:02.090 --> 00:03:05.289 the point is, if you have already been confirmed 00:03:05.289 --> 00:03:06.669 in another tradition, but you're like, you know, 00:03:06.710 --> 00:03:08.330 I want to make my spiritual home in the Anglican 00:03:08.330 --> 00:03:11.129 church now, then reception is something the bishop 00:03:11.129 --> 00:03:13.250 will do. And I think actually when he receives 00:03:13.250 --> 00:03:14.849 someone, he doesn't lay hands on their head. 00:03:14.889 --> 00:03:16.900 He actually just kind of. gives them like a kind 00:03:16.900 --> 00:03:19.979 of like a handshake of some sort. And he says 00:03:19.979 --> 00:03:22.819 this, we recognize you as a member of the one 00:03:22.819 --> 00:03:26.099 Holy Catholic and apostolic church. And we receive 00:03:26.099 --> 00:03:29.120 you into the fellowship of the Anglican communion. 00:03:29.419 --> 00:03:32.439 Okay. Okay. So. The third one that you mentioned, 00:03:32.479 --> 00:03:33.939 this is the one actually I'm more excited about 00:03:33.939 --> 00:03:35.580 lately. And I think it's partly because I think 00:03:35.580 --> 00:03:37.919 this is where maybe Jen's at these days. And 00:03:37.919 --> 00:03:40.719 that's reaffirmation. So reaffirmation, let's 00:03:40.719 --> 00:03:42.020 say you've been baptized. Let's say you've been 00:03:42.020 --> 00:03:44.580 confirmed. But yet something has changed in your 00:03:44.580 --> 00:03:46.400 life. God has done something new in your life. 00:03:46.439 --> 00:03:49.400 There's a new moment, a new movement. You've, 00:03:49.400 --> 00:03:52.439 I don't know, you just, maybe you are away from 00:03:52.439 --> 00:03:54.159 church and now you're coming back to church or 00:03:54.159 --> 00:03:56.280 you're growing. Something's happened and you 00:03:56.280 --> 00:03:58.500 want to, you're like, God, I want to mark this 00:03:58.500 --> 00:04:01.500 moment in my life by reaffirming my commitment 00:04:01.500 --> 00:04:05.580 to you and to this church. That is what a reaffirmation 00:04:05.580 --> 00:04:08.199 is all about. And that might apply actually to 00:04:08.199 --> 00:04:09.860 most of the people out there because most of 00:04:09.860 --> 00:04:11.699 them have already been baptized and maybe many 00:04:11.699 --> 00:04:13.960 of them have been confirmed. So, but reaffirmation 00:04:13.960 --> 00:04:17.259 is, hey, at any moment. That God is like stirring 00:04:17.259 --> 00:04:20.240 something up in you and say, then let's reaffirm 00:04:20.240 --> 00:04:22.819 all that stuff. And when that happens, the bishop 00:04:22.819 --> 00:04:25.879 just says, may the Holy Spirit who has begun 00:04:25.879 --> 00:04:29.240 a good work in you direct and uphold you in the 00:04:29.240 --> 00:04:32.420 service of Christ and his kingdom. Okay. There 00:04:32.420 --> 00:04:37.139 you go. Very cool. So where. did these practices 00:04:37.139 --> 00:04:39.740 come from? Like, the Anglican Church has a long 00:04:39.740 --> 00:04:41.660 history, so these aren't things that we just 00:04:41.660 --> 00:04:44.939 made up yesterday. But, yeah, like, what's the 00:04:44.939 --> 00:04:48.220 sort of history, the meaning behind them? You 00:04:48.220 --> 00:04:52.240 know, I'm not a huge history major, but one thing 00:04:52.240 --> 00:04:55.779 I do think is true is that at one point in the 00:04:55.779 --> 00:04:58.209 life of the Church, all these things happen together 00:04:58.209 --> 00:05:02.810 at once. So if you were going to join the church 00:05:02.810 --> 00:05:06.569 and be baptized and then it would all look, it 00:05:06.569 --> 00:05:08.569 would all happen at the same time. You would, 00:05:08.569 --> 00:05:10.829 you would be baptized and the bishop would lay 00:05:10.829 --> 00:05:13.990 his hands on you and you know, you would make 00:05:13.990 --> 00:05:16.430 these vows and you would make these commitments 00:05:16.430 --> 00:05:18.569 and the church, like it was almost like it was 00:05:18.569 --> 00:05:22.629 all one big event. It wasn't broken up like this 00:05:22.629 --> 00:05:24.850 before. Sure. But then I think what happened 00:05:24.850 --> 00:05:29.019 was, um, We only have three bishops. So bishops 00:05:29.019 --> 00:05:31.639 can't be around all the time to do all this stuff 00:05:31.639 --> 00:05:34.620 as it pops up in the life of the church. So then 00:05:34.620 --> 00:05:38.180 clergy, priests, began to be able to do baptisms, 00:05:38.199 --> 00:05:40.480 right? So now we can do baptisms. So anytime 00:05:40.480 --> 00:05:42.240 somebody wants to get baptized, boom, boom, boom, 00:05:42.279 --> 00:05:45.339 we do it here, just like we baptized Alexis just 00:05:45.339 --> 00:05:49.500 last week, right? Um, but that means that now 00:05:49.500 --> 00:05:51.360 we've kind of separated these things. So baptism 00:05:51.360 --> 00:05:53.860 happens with the priest, but confirmation remained 00:05:53.860 --> 00:05:56.360 something that only the bishop could do. So, 00:05:56.420 --> 00:05:59.379 so yeah, I think, but I, I just want to read 00:05:59.379 --> 00:06:01.319 one piece of scripture and I just want to, cause 00:06:01.319 --> 00:06:04.339 I dug this up. So in the book of Acts, this is 00:06:04.339 --> 00:06:09.399 very interesting book of Acts. The apostles saw 00:06:09.399 --> 00:06:11.319 something happening. They saw that in Samaria, 00:06:11.339 --> 00:06:13.899 a lot of people were coming to believe in Jesus. 00:06:13.959 --> 00:06:17.500 Right. And they had heard the word of God and 00:06:17.500 --> 00:06:20.160 they wanted to follow Jesus. And this was fantastic. 00:06:20.220 --> 00:06:23.220 But one thing they said was they hadn't yet. 00:06:23.579 --> 00:06:26.259 receive the Holy Spirit. So, for some reason, 00:06:26.300 --> 00:06:27.860 they were saying, look, there's this group of 00:06:27.860 --> 00:06:29.860 people in Samaria, they want to follow Jesus, 00:06:29.899 --> 00:06:31.920 they love Jesus, but there's this, the Holy Spirit 00:06:31.920 --> 00:06:34.680 hasn't yet kind of come upon them in a powerful 00:06:34.680 --> 00:06:37.100 way. So, what the apostles do is they go up to 00:06:37.100 --> 00:06:41.300 Samaria, and then it tells us that then Peter 00:06:41.300 --> 00:06:45.980 and John laid their hands on them, and they received 00:06:45.980 --> 00:06:50.399 the Holy Spirit. And so I think there is a biblical 00:06:50.399 --> 00:06:55.319 idea that the laying on of hands is connected 00:06:55.319 --> 00:06:57.360 to the receiving of the Holy Spirit. They had 00:06:57.360 --> 00:06:59.100 heard the word. They had already heard that. 00:06:59.100 --> 00:07:01.920 They knew how to pray. They had maybe even started 00:07:01.920 --> 00:07:05.120 a church. But it wasn't until one of these apostles 00:07:05.120 --> 00:07:08.279 came up and laid hands on that the spirit moved. 00:07:08.560 --> 00:07:14.470 Yeah. Yeah. Oh, very cool. Yeah. So. Jen, you're 00:07:14.470 --> 00:07:17.329 sort of here because you're interested in this 00:07:17.329 --> 00:07:19.269 process and you've been on a little bit of a 00:07:19.269 --> 00:07:21.689 faith journey with your family. So maybe can 00:07:21.689 --> 00:07:23.670 you just tell us a little bit about what that 00:07:23.670 --> 00:07:27.029 journey has looked like for you so far? Yeah, 00:07:27.050 --> 00:07:28.949 thank you for the invitation to come and share. 00:07:29.129 --> 00:07:32.029 And yeah, Rob alluded that last week, my daughter, 00:07:32.110 --> 00:07:35.230 Alexis, who's nine, she'll be 10 the end of this 00:07:35.230 --> 00:07:38.089 year, chose to be baptized and actually just 00:07:38.089 --> 00:07:41.370 asked me. well when do i get confirmed so this 00:07:41.370 --> 00:07:44.389 was a really good opportunity to learn a little 00:07:44.389 --> 00:07:47.569 bit because yeah here's this this scenario but 00:07:47.569 --> 00:07:50.850 wow what an inspiration she's been and her story 00:07:50.850 --> 00:07:53.589 connects to my story i guess my story goes a 00:07:53.589 --> 00:07:57.930 little further back though because um i was baptized 00:07:57.930 --> 00:08:02.370 as a baby in the united church and then i was 00:08:02.370 --> 00:08:05.290 confirmed and i i remember so is rob speaking 00:08:05.290 --> 00:08:08.319 about the words sustain you for all the days 00:08:08.319 --> 00:08:11.120 of your life. It almost came back with a, like 00:08:11.120 --> 00:08:14.240 an embodied feeling of when the hands were laid 00:08:14.240 --> 00:08:17.220 on me and this, this piece, I kind of remember 00:08:17.220 --> 00:08:20.899 the feeling of like being at the, the eye at 00:08:20.899 --> 00:08:23.379 the center of a storm, a peaceful experience 00:08:23.379 --> 00:08:27.220 when I was confirmed. And yet then shortly thereafter, 00:08:27.480 --> 00:08:30.959 that kind of paused my journey. My family pulled 00:08:30.959 --> 00:08:35.160 away from the church. I was now a teenager. And 00:08:35.160 --> 00:08:37.179 Saturday nights were really exciting and there 00:08:37.179 --> 00:08:39.679 was no getting up early Sunday mornings for many 00:08:39.679 --> 00:08:42.299 years. And I was committed to my studies and 00:08:42.299 --> 00:08:45.679 life just kept going. And then I was in Asia 00:08:45.679 --> 00:08:48.639 and being exposed to other faiths and seeking. 00:08:49.620 --> 00:08:54.159 And enter life back in Canada and as a parent 00:08:54.159 --> 00:08:57.940 in the community here in Streetsville. And Camp 00:08:57.940 --> 00:09:00.840 Trinity spoke to our family. There were lots 00:09:00.840 --> 00:09:04.899 of kids from my children's school. that just 00:09:04.899 --> 00:09:08.480 raved about Camp Trinity. And so we decided to 00:09:08.480 --> 00:09:11.860 enroll our children. I want to say three or four 00:09:11.860 --> 00:09:14.960 summers ago. I've kind of lost track of the time. 00:09:15.200 --> 00:09:20.419 And Alexis came home and she said, Mom, Dad, 00:09:20.539 --> 00:09:22.480 there's a family day. We're going to Trinity. 00:09:22.820 --> 00:09:27.320 And so as a family, it was a first that we stepped 00:09:27.320 --> 00:09:30.600 through the doors into Trinity and were received 00:09:30.600 --> 00:09:35.799 where. it felt similar to that embodied experience 00:09:35.799 --> 00:09:40.120 back in the past. But yet Alexis led our family 00:09:40.120 --> 00:09:42.940 very much through her requests towards wanting 00:09:42.940 --> 00:09:47.000 to eventually be baptized. And through that process, 00:09:47.039 --> 00:09:49.679 it made me reflect on my own journey and where 00:09:49.679 --> 00:09:52.139 we as a family were at, where I was at, and we 00:09:52.139 --> 00:09:55.919 were at such very different places. And so... 00:09:57.759 --> 00:10:00.940 I decided then to enroll in Alpha and attend 00:10:00.940 --> 00:10:03.700 church. And I remember originally speaking to 00:10:03.700 --> 00:10:07.620 Rob, and he invited us to consider an earlier 00:10:07.620 --> 00:10:10.039 baptism. And I almost said, I remember saying 00:10:10.039 --> 00:10:12.139 to Rob, well, I'll go through Alpha. We'll have 00:10:12.139 --> 00:10:16.019 Alexis go through and explore Camp Trinity again 00:10:16.019 --> 00:10:19.039 and just take this at pace. Yeah, take it slow, 00:10:19.080 --> 00:10:23.080 one step at a time. And that gave us a chance 00:10:23.080 --> 00:10:26.049 as a family to... to explore and experience, 00:10:26.350 --> 00:10:31.950 and just not rush into this, but really just 00:10:31.950 --> 00:10:35.789 steward her and explore for us. And so we came 00:10:35.789 --> 00:10:39.070 upon then Alexis being baptized, and I remember 00:10:39.070 --> 00:10:42.049 meeting with Rob and saying to him, this is about 00:10:42.049 --> 00:10:44.330 her, it's her day, but there's something here, 00:10:44.389 --> 00:10:49.980 Rob, for me too. In this point in life, and it 00:10:49.980 --> 00:10:52.159 is, I'm mid -age, I'm transforming, I'm changing 00:10:52.159 --> 00:10:54.279 careers. You talk about big moments, my father 00:10:54.279 --> 00:10:57.039 passed, you know, lots of things that have just 00:10:57.039 --> 00:11:01.899 kind of cracked open where I'm at to recenter 00:11:01.899 --> 00:11:05.799 on my faith and choose faith over fear in many 00:11:05.799 --> 00:11:10.799 ways. And so this is where Rob said, well, there's 00:11:10.799 --> 00:11:13.639 an opportunity coming up. And that was such a 00:11:13.639 --> 00:11:15.639 gift to hear that I could look at being received 00:11:15.639 --> 00:11:19.210 and reaffirmed. Received first because now my 00:11:19.210 --> 00:11:22.429 daughter has joined the Anglican faith, and I 00:11:22.429 --> 00:11:24.929 would like to join the same family and be in 00:11:24.929 --> 00:11:30.070 the same family as her. And second, reaffirmed 00:11:30.070 --> 00:11:32.669 because it's at a point in time, as Rob said, 00:11:32.870 --> 00:11:39.169 where I'm ready. I'm ready to rededicate. I reread 00:11:39.169 --> 00:11:42.620 what discipleship meant. Especially here at Trinity, 00:11:42.779 --> 00:11:45.179 I remember receiving kind of a certificate that 00:11:45.179 --> 00:11:48.919 says, what does it mean to you? And the words, 00:11:48.919 --> 00:11:51.200 I've kind of kept them very alive in terms of, 00:11:51.220 --> 00:11:53.980 do I commit to practice? Do I commit to my own 00:11:53.980 --> 00:11:58.379 spirituality and my own? Right. And I keep coming 00:11:58.379 --> 00:12:00.820 back to, yes, I do. So now's the time. Yeah. 00:12:00.899 --> 00:12:03.059 And so I'm really grateful. And it's almost, 00:12:03.279 --> 00:12:05.659 well, I will say divine timing that here was 00:12:05.659 --> 00:12:08.299 my daughter being baptized in September. And 00:12:08.299 --> 00:12:10.019 then the opportunity, which I hear is quite a 00:12:10.019 --> 00:12:13.409 rarity. We don't have many. Yeah. They come to, 00:12:13.450 --> 00:12:17.669 to offer these experiences. So, um, yeah, I'm 00:12:17.669 --> 00:12:21.009 looking forward, I believe November 17th is the 00:12:21.009 --> 00:12:24.370 day to be received and reaffirmed. Yeah. Yeah. 00:12:24.470 --> 00:12:26.450 No, that's so cool. Like I think about like, 00:12:26.490 --> 00:12:29.210 there's a lot of examples in scripture of like 00:12:29.210 --> 00:12:31.730 the importance that Jesus places on children. 00:12:32.250 --> 00:12:35.029 Um, and, and there's even this verse in Isaiah 00:12:35.029 --> 00:12:36.509 that talks about, you know, in the future, a 00:12:36.509 --> 00:12:39.289 little child will lead them, you know? And so 00:12:39.289 --> 00:12:41.549 there's, there's that very real sense in your 00:12:41.549 --> 00:12:44.830 life right now that, that a child is, is leading 00:12:44.830 --> 00:12:47.710 you back to your faith, leading you back to Christ. 00:12:47.710 --> 00:12:51.779 And that's, that's. And inviting my husband and 00:12:51.779 --> 00:12:55.000 my son and our in -laws and others around her 00:12:55.000 --> 00:12:57.919 and her neighborhood friend who came and witnessed 00:12:57.919 --> 00:13:01.500 her. But she's just is leading. And I can't I'm 00:13:01.500 --> 00:13:04.500 so inspired by. Yeah. By her path. Yeah. Yeah. 00:13:04.500 --> 00:13:06.840 Thank you for naming that. Yeah. Yeah. No, that's 00:13:06.840 --> 00:13:12.899 awesome. So what do you think makes this particular 00:13:12.899 --> 00:13:17.220 moment the right moment for you to to step into 00:13:17.220 --> 00:13:22.100 this next? Well, as I was sharing, I think the 00:13:22.100 --> 00:13:27.220 opportunity of having this at the time when Alexis 00:13:27.220 --> 00:13:29.580 was coming on this journey, being able to then 00:13:29.580 --> 00:13:33.340 also be received and join her and have her baptism 00:13:33.340 --> 00:13:36.080 be her celebration, but this be my receiving 00:13:36.080 --> 00:13:38.080 and reaffirmation. So I think timing's everything 00:13:38.080 --> 00:13:41.639 as to why now. But a little bit more personal 00:13:41.639 --> 00:13:45.259 would be I'm in a lot of transitions in my life. 00:13:46.620 --> 00:13:50.259 Choosing faith, choosing faith over fear as I 00:13:50.259 --> 00:13:54.480 walk my path and hold myself. And I think now 00:13:54.480 --> 00:14:00.860 is the particular time where receiving and coming 00:14:00.860 --> 00:14:03.419 back to my faith and giving and receiving into 00:14:03.419 --> 00:14:09.120 community, into my relationship with Jesus, my 00:14:09.120 --> 00:14:10.879 relationship with God, my relationship with my 00:14:10.879 --> 00:14:13.940 family. It's just all so important. And one thing 00:14:13.940 --> 00:14:18.000 I will say is when we came after, The Camp Trinity 00:14:18.000 --> 00:14:20.700 experience, one of the sermons that Rob delivered 00:14:20.700 --> 00:14:25.659 was on a study, a longitudinal study on human 00:14:25.659 --> 00:14:27.940 development out of Harvard University. Robert, 00:14:27.940 --> 00:14:31.779 Robert, anyway, the whole premise of the book, 00:14:31.799 --> 00:14:33.980 he was speaking and I said over to my husband, 00:14:34.120 --> 00:14:37.659 I just read this book. I just read about this 00:14:37.659 --> 00:14:40.240 book. And the bottom line, the basis of the book, 00:14:40.259 --> 00:14:43.720 after 80 years of studying human development 00:14:43.720 --> 00:14:46.389 and. What made people thrive and hunt in their 00:14:46.389 --> 00:14:49.230 lives was relationships. Right. And so here I 00:14:49.230 --> 00:14:51.529 was at a place looking for my relationship to 00:14:51.529 --> 00:14:53.370 Jesus, my relationship to God, my relationships, 00:14:53.490 --> 00:14:56.450 my family, my relationships and career, so on 00:14:56.450 --> 00:14:59.350 and so forth, and really taking hold. Been my 00:14:59.350 --> 00:15:02.009 ancestral lineages. We're exploring right now 00:15:02.009 --> 00:15:05.509 and having relationships in other ways. Yeah. 00:15:05.509 --> 00:15:08.289 Thank you. You know, as we're talking, I'm struck 00:15:08.289 --> 00:15:12.549 by the fact that it's at moments like this in. 00:15:13.200 --> 00:15:16.279 the life of our church that we, we actually start 00:15:16.279 --> 00:15:19.879 talking about our denomination, right? Like most 00:15:19.879 --> 00:15:22.059 Sundays you would come to Trinity. You would 00:15:22.059 --> 00:15:24.799 never hear the word Anglican, right? You would, 00:15:24.799 --> 00:15:27.200 there would be, I mean, I think Trinity is probably 00:15:27.200 --> 00:15:32.600 part of the Anglican family and, and for sure. 00:15:33.279 --> 00:15:38.019 But it's, it's just, it's only when. we talk 00:15:38.019 --> 00:15:40.200 about bishops and confirmation and stuff like 00:15:40.200 --> 00:15:42.340 that, that we have to start talking about Anglican 00:15:42.340 --> 00:15:45.159 identity. Right. Because, and so I actually kind 00:15:45.159 --> 00:15:47.659 of curious about that with you, Jen, like, like, 00:15:47.679 --> 00:15:50.440 cause on the one hand you started the journey 00:15:50.440 --> 00:15:53.919 with like alpha and alpha isn't about being an 00:15:53.919 --> 00:15:56.340 Anglican. It's about following Jesus. And actually 00:15:56.340 --> 00:15:58.879 that's what Trinity is so much about too. Like 00:15:58.879 --> 00:16:02.179 we don't wave our Anglican denominational flag 00:16:02.179 --> 00:16:07.250 very hard here at all. So I'm just curious, like 00:16:07.250 --> 00:16:12.149 where is there a real strong pull to the to the 00:16:12.149 --> 00:16:16.909 Anglican style or or is it really just about 00:16:16.909 --> 00:16:19.990 I want to mark this moment and this is a way 00:16:19.990 --> 00:16:22.690 to do it? I don't know. That's such a good question, 00:16:22.750 --> 00:16:25.250 Robin. I have so many different places coming 00:16:25.250 --> 00:16:27.090 up where I could speak to. So maybe I'll just 00:16:27.090 --> 00:16:31.730 name a few. And first and foremost, I think Trinity. 00:16:33.190 --> 00:16:37.409 Trinity as a church, as a congregation, was an 00:16:37.409 --> 00:16:39.710 experience that my children, my family had. So 00:16:39.710 --> 00:16:43.149 I start with this community, this congregation 00:16:43.149 --> 00:16:46.350 specifically. But I mentioned we'd been on some 00:16:46.350 --> 00:16:48.389 pilgrimages. I was speaking with Kyla around 00:16:48.389 --> 00:16:52.710 my own ancestral lines, and my husband and father 00:16:52.710 --> 00:16:55.210 are on a little bit of a pilgrimage right now 00:16:55.210 --> 00:16:59.070 with their grandmother. And both sides have come 00:16:59.070 --> 00:17:01.629 where we actually have started to unravel and 00:17:01.629 --> 00:17:04.740 learn. a lot about our lineages that we didn't 00:17:04.740 --> 00:17:08.640 know. We both come from the Church of England, 00:17:08.720 --> 00:17:12.400 all of our ancestors do, on both sides. And so 00:17:12.400 --> 00:17:16.359 that felt right as well, as we're looking at 00:17:16.359 --> 00:17:20.880 Alexis in terms of receiving from her ancestral 00:17:20.880 --> 00:17:25.440 lineages. And so much so that even on my family's 00:17:25.440 --> 00:17:28.519 side, on my maternal lineage side, my mother 00:17:28.519 --> 00:17:34.220 pulled out her great -grandmother's Bible 1880, 00:17:34.380 --> 00:17:36.859 I want to say, and gifted that to Alexis last 00:17:36.859 --> 00:17:38.720 weekend. And on the front of the Bible was the 00:17:38.720 --> 00:17:42.960 British International Society. And as the story 00:17:42.960 --> 00:17:45.400 goes, it's quite a sad story. But that woman, 00:17:45.819 --> 00:17:48.980 my great -great -grandmother, Alexis's great 00:17:48.980 --> 00:17:50.480 -great -great -grandmother, died after giving 00:17:50.480 --> 00:17:53.220 childbirth. But in that Bible was a lock of her 00:17:53.220 --> 00:17:56.259 hair and also a little note about seeding her 00:17:56.259 --> 00:17:59.660 lambs. And so here's this woman who had the will 00:17:59.660 --> 00:18:03.720 to. to pay forward her spiritual path. And so 00:18:03.720 --> 00:18:06.779 here's Alexis now. Yeah. After a lot of receiving 00:18:06.779 --> 00:18:09.480 a piece of that and a lot of, you know, time 00:18:09.480 --> 00:18:12.880 removed coming back to Anglican. So it has, so 00:18:12.880 --> 00:18:16.000 this, this moment has line. It has, you've found 00:18:16.000 --> 00:18:18.519 some connections historically with this, this 00:18:18.519 --> 00:18:21.920 church. It's not how it started, but that's just 00:18:21.920 --> 00:18:24.839 kind of this happy, you know, God coincidence 00:18:24.839 --> 00:18:28.059 thing. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That's really interesting 00:18:28.059 --> 00:18:30.750 to hear. Like, cause I think about, like my own 00:18:30.750 --> 00:18:34.049 journey into some form of Anglicanism anyway, 00:18:34.309 --> 00:18:37.410 right? Because I grew up in Baptist churches. 00:18:37.470 --> 00:18:41.869 My family just is Baptist. There's a history 00:18:41.869 --> 00:18:46.829 of that. And so one of the things that that has 00:18:46.829 --> 00:18:49.710 been instilled in me is actually a value. like 00:18:49.710 --> 00:18:52.470 that I value the local church really highly. 00:18:52.690 --> 00:18:55.109 And so when I was looking for a church in Mississauga, 00:18:55.170 --> 00:18:57.930 I wasn't looking for a church based on any denomination. 00:18:58.089 --> 00:19:00.509 I was looking for a local church where I felt 00:19:00.509 --> 00:19:04.130 like I could fit. And Trinity became that. But 00:19:04.130 --> 00:19:05.690 I think the longer that I've been here and the 00:19:05.690 --> 00:19:09.109 more I've sort of reflected on Anglicanism, the 00:19:09.109 --> 00:19:13.420 more I can see like that I really value. liturgical 00:19:13.420 --> 00:19:16.180 systems that I value a church year that even 00:19:16.180 --> 00:19:18.059 though Trinity doesn't follow it perfectly like 00:19:18.059 --> 00:19:21.339 it exists we do have a church calendar a set 00:19:21.339 --> 00:19:24.339 of seasons there are particular services that 00:19:24.339 --> 00:19:29.799 just instill in me this rhythm and also yeah 00:19:29.799 --> 00:19:36.869 just a sense of Not everything about being connected 00:19:36.869 --> 00:19:38.890 to a history and to an ancient path is always 00:19:38.890 --> 00:19:40.809 good, but I think that there are good things 00:19:40.809 --> 00:19:45.470 about it. I think having a system of bishops 00:19:45.470 --> 00:19:48.309 and priests who all learn together and hold each 00:19:48.309 --> 00:19:51.710 other accountable and lean into the way of Jesus 00:19:51.710 --> 00:19:54.910 together, I think, is valuable. There's one other 00:19:54.910 --> 00:19:59.160 offering I'll give that came up. This also had 00:19:59.160 --> 00:20:01.660 me look into, well, what is the United Church? 00:20:01.759 --> 00:20:03.500 That's where I was baptized. That's where I was 00:20:03.500 --> 00:20:06.140 confirmed. It's the history. It's a Canadian 00:20:06.140 --> 00:20:11.619 story. It's a Canadian -born church. So the history 00:20:11.619 --> 00:20:15.279 there is 100 years old. 1925, I believe, was 00:20:15.279 --> 00:20:19.539 the... um start of the united church in canada 00:20:19.539 --> 00:20:23.480 as far as i know sure yeah but if we think of 00:20:23.480 --> 00:20:27.539 the globalized world and anglicanism across the 00:20:27.539 --> 00:20:32.000 span of yeah the world it's a really large global 00:20:32.000 --> 00:20:35.660 community as well so as we join within trinity 00:20:35.660 --> 00:20:38.200 which speaks to our family and our experience 00:20:38.200 --> 00:20:41.400 here and then you expand out there's a sense 00:20:41.400 --> 00:20:45.869 of connectedness yeah And in a larger sense, 00:20:45.990 --> 00:20:48.609 too, that really that's appealing to you. That's 00:20:48.609 --> 00:20:52.490 appealing to to me, too. Yeah. Alexis doesn't 00:20:52.490 --> 00:20:57.369 see that lens, but I do. Yeah. And, you know, 00:20:57.390 --> 00:20:59.549 her grandmother was even mentioning last week 00:20:59.549 --> 00:21:01.430 that she was considering getting her dual citizenship 00:21:01.430 --> 00:21:04.769 back in the UK. OK. In Britain. So in that case. 00:21:05.400 --> 00:21:09.460 It just, it meant. Yeah, there's that global 00:21:09.460 --> 00:21:13.359 connection. Yeah, for sure. So, Jen, as you are 00:21:13.359 --> 00:21:17.299 preparing for this next step, what are you hoping 00:21:17.299 --> 00:21:21.839 for as you take this step into reaffirmation? 00:21:24.039 --> 00:21:27.059 Well, I come back to this, you know, what am 00:21:27.059 --> 00:21:30.880 I hoping for? I think I'm hoping for maybe the. 00:21:31.240 --> 00:21:33.960 The word sustain, when I was confirmed, it was 00:21:33.960 --> 00:21:37.700 sustained on the days of my life. But as I look 00:21:37.700 --> 00:21:40.779 to be reaffirmed and I understand, receive the 00:21:40.779 --> 00:21:44.519 hands and the Spirit, the Holy Spirit through 00:21:44.519 --> 00:21:47.420 the transmission, that's where I believe faith 00:21:47.420 --> 00:21:50.759 will prevail. Sure. If you hold faith and fear 00:21:50.759 --> 00:21:54.079 as this polarity, we walk within choosing faith 00:21:54.079 --> 00:21:58.539 in an embodied way that's witnessed, that's held 00:21:58.539 --> 00:22:01.539 not just something that's... internal or personal 00:22:01.539 --> 00:22:04.579 which probably would have been more less my last 00:22:04.579 --> 00:22:08.359 white that's a a hope would probably be to have 00:22:08.359 --> 00:22:10.819 a similar embodied experience that i had when 00:22:10.819 --> 00:22:14.259 i was confirmed yeah yeah because that has sustained 00:22:14.259 --> 00:22:17.700 me in many ways yeah yeah and sustained me all 00:22:17.700 --> 00:22:21.400 the days of my life is yeah there's something 00:22:21.400 --> 00:22:24.759 real that happens whether it's in these big sort 00:22:24.759 --> 00:22:27.140 of public moments or even just sometimes in quieter 00:22:27.140 --> 00:22:30.779 moments like when you have that visceral experience 00:22:30.779 --> 00:22:35.220 of God, it does become a nourishing, sustaining 00:22:35.220 --> 00:22:38.900 thing that when I'm then later in those moments 00:22:38.900 --> 00:22:41.380 of like, I don't know what I'm doing. I don't 00:22:41.380 --> 00:22:43.799 know what I'm feeling. I can go back and be like, 00:22:43.859 --> 00:22:46.880 no, I know God is real because I felt God then. 00:22:47.019 --> 00:22:49.420 Maybe I don't feel God today, but I felt God 00:22:49.420 --> 00:22:52.519 then. Yeah. And it does. It becomes a sustaining 00:22:52.519 --> 00:22:57.119 moment for sure. Yeah. So as you're thinking 00:22:57.119 --> 00:23:00.039 about this, obviously we're really excited that 00:23:00.039 --> 00:23:02.779 you are stepping into reaffirmation and we're 00:23:02.779 --> 00:23:04.720 hopeful that there will be other folks who will 00:23:04.720 --> 00:23:07.400 do that as well. So if there's other folks who 00:23:07.400 --> 00:23:09.119 are thinking about this, who are thinking, I 00:23:09.119 --> 00:23:11.420 don't know, maybe confirmation, maybe reception 00:23:11.420 --> 00:23:14.539 or reaffirmation, like what would be your advice 00:23:14.539 --> 00:23:23.019 or your wisdom to them? Well, one piece to say 00:23:23.019 --> 00:23:25.099 is that we heard that these opportunities don't 00:23:25.099 --> 00:23:28.900 necessarily come available to us locally in our 00:23:28.900 --> 00:23:31.940 own community here at Trinity very often. So 00:23:31.940 --> 00:23:36.640 if you're sensing that these experiences may 00:23:36.640 --> 00:23:39.819 be possible for you, now's a good time because 00:23:39.819 --> 00:23:44.380 it's available and Rob's created the opportunity 00:23:44.380 --> 00:23:47.039 for us to receive these gifts now. I would say 00:23:47.039 --> 00:23:55.220 on a more personal level, is to consider where 00:23:55.220 --> 00:23:58.539 the dedication, the discipleship that you're 00:23:58.539 --> 00:24:01.380 at, where you're at in your own journey, and 00:24:01.380 --> 00:24:05.859 what receiving the Holy Spirit could do for you 00:24:05.859 --> 00:24:08.359 and to you and through you and as you and by 00:24:08.359 --> 00:24:13.140 you as you continue having the... Yeah, the impact 00:24:13.140 --> 00:24:15.799 through relationships in your lives. I would 00:24:15.799 --> 00:24:18.059 say that's what comes up when asked, maybe a 00:24:18.059 --> 00:24:21.099 little wordy. No, no, no, no, that's great. Yeah, 00:24:21.160 --> 00:24:26.259 it's really, it's a very personal moment that 00:24:26.259 --> 00:24:29.599 happens in a very public setting. So that there's 00:24:29.599 --> 00:24:31.420 a bit of attention there sometimes, I think. 00:24:31.480 --> 00:24:34.680 But it is, yeah, something that I think Christ 00:24:34.680 --> 00:24:38.619 could be calling lots of folks to in some moment, 00:24:38.680 --> 00:24:43.210 just to take another step. Yeah, I mean, those 00:24:43.210 --> 00:24:46.210 are the moments we remember in life, right? Moments 00:24:46.210 --> 00:24:49.430 where we stood up, where we did something that 00:24:49.430 --> 00:24:51.930 maybe pushed us out of our comfort zone a little 00:24:51.930 --> 00:24:54.250 bit, to be in front of all these people, to make 00:24:54.250 --> 00:24:57.470 a statement of faith, to declare something. Like, 00:24:57.470 --> 00:25:02.349 yeah, that's going to stick with you for a long 00:25:02.349 --> 00:25:04.849 time and maybe forever. It'll be one of those 00:25:04.849 --> 00:25:06.690 memories that you always carry with you about 00:25:06.690 --> 00:25:10.029 a turning point in your own faith. Yeah. It's, 00:25:10.029 --> 00:25:12.109 it's, it's worth thinking long and hard. Like, 00:25:12.170 --> 00:25:14.670 Hey, is this an opportunity for me to have that 00:25:14.670 --> 00:25:18.170 moment? Yeah. Right. Yeah, totally. And so Rob, 00:25:18.210 --> 00:25:20.450 if someone is thinking that maybe this is their 00:25:20.450 --> 00:25:22.609 moment, they want to maybe talk more about it 00:25:22.609 --> 00:25:24.849 or they're, they're ready to say, let's do this. 00:25:24.890 --> 00:25:27.630 What should they do next? Yeah. Well, I think. 00:25:28.970 --> 00:25:31.309 Maybe that first step is just discernment to 00:25:31.309 --> 00:25:34.089 do some of the work that Jen has been doing just 00:25:34.089 --> 00:25:38.250 to think, yeah, is God calling me to this step 00:25:38.250 --> 00:25:40.809 right now? And to prayerfully think about that. 00:25:40.890 --> 00:25:43.190 I think I want to say right with that again, 00:25:43.309 --> 00:25:46.809 that there is certainly no pressure and no expectation 00:25:46.809 --> 00:25:51.559 that you. that anyone participate in this. Uh, 00:25:51.660 --> 00:25:54.039 and it's not like by participating in it, somehow 00:25:54.039 --> 00:25:56.440 you enter an inner circle here at the church 00:25:56.440 --> 00:25:59.480 and now you're, you're more included or you belong 00:25:59.480 --> 00:26:01.200 more or something like that. Like that's not 00:26:01.200 --> 00:26:03.700 what it's about. Trinity. We are a group of ordinary 00:26:03.700 --> 00:26:06.099 people just learning to follow Jesus in our own 00:26:06.099 --> 00:26:09.380 day. Full stop. That's who we are. Um, so, so 00:26:09.380 --> 00:26:11.720 yes, this decision to, to do something that's 00:26:11.720 --> 00:26:13.660 a bit more formal and a bit more connected to 00:26:13.660 --> 00:26:16.180 our Anglican identity. Yeah. Pray about that. 00:26:16.220 --> 00:26:19.779 Think about that is yeah. Um, So certainly I 00:26:19.779 --> 00:26:22.299 would want to let me know that that's something 00:26:22.299 --> 00:26:24.619 that you're thinking about. And there's a number 00:26:24.619 --> 00:26:26.559 of ways they can do that. They can actually go 00:26:26.559 --> 00:26:29.619 to our events page and they can just click on 00:26:29.619 --> 00:26:32.980 the link that says confirmation, reception, reaffirmation. 00:26:32.980 --> 00:26:34.680 You can choose which one you're interested in. 00:26:34.740 --> 00:26:39.269 We'll follow up with you. And then following 00:26:39.269 --> 00:26:43.609 that, there will be some form of preparation 00:26:43.609 --> 00:26:46.470 that is going to be offered for each of these 00:26:46.470 --> 00:26:49.170 things. We haven't kind of got that all laid 00:26:49.170 --> 00:26:52.269 out just yet. I know some churches would have 00:26:52.269 --> 00:26:56.069 like months of catechesis before confirmation. 00:26:56.849 --> 00:26:58.609 That's not going to be what it's going to look 00:26:58.609 --> 00:27:00.769 like at least this time around. But we do want 00:27:00.769 --> 00:27:03.029 to make sure that people have a chance to think 00:27:03.029 --> 00:27:05.430 about what's going to happen, to get a little 00:27:05.430 --> 00:27:09.690 bit of... Yeah, just a little bit of training 00:27:09.690 --> 00:27:13.369 and teaching so that the moment can be all that 00:27:13.369 --> 00:27:16.349 it can be. Sure. Then, yeah, I would circle November 00:27:16.349 --> 00:27:20.089 19th on your calendar. Continue to participate 00:27:20.089 --> 00:27:23.150 in the life of this church because that's how 00:27:23.150 --> 00:27:29.109 we continue to grow. Yeah, I think it's as simple 00:27:29.109 --> 00:27:31.869 as that. It's as easy as that. Yeah. Okay. Great. 00:27:31.990 --> 00:27:34.589 Thank you so much. Enjoying me. Yeah. Yes, please. 00:27:37.750 --> 00:27:41.109 I welcome all to Jordan. Yeah. And I should say, 00:27:41.109 --> 00:27:45.730 too, like I'm there is somehow a bit of a thinking 00:27:45.730 --> 00:27:48.789 that, oh, confirmation is for kids who when they're 00:27:48.789 --> 00:27:51.109 turning 12 or 13, like it's like this thing that 00:27:51.109 --> 00:27:53.329 happens to that age group at that time. Right. 00:27:53.430 --> 00:27:56.769 And that certainly is not the case right there. 00:27:57.109 --> 00:27:59.569 Like, I'm so glad, actually, that Jen is stepping 00:27:59.569 --> 00:28:02.690 forward in this moment because this is for everyone. 00:28:02.730 --> 00:28:04.369 It's an opportunity for everyone, depending on 00:28:04.369 --> 00:28:06.970 where they're at. Yeah. Yeah. Awesome. Well, 00:28:07.009 --> 00:28:09.529 thank you both so much. This has been a really 00:28:09.529 --> 00:28:12.569 helpful conversation to sort of clarify some 00:28:12.569 --> 00:28:14.390 things about what it is that we're talking about 00:28:14.390 --> 00:28:16.829 here, but then also a really hopeful conversation, 00:28:16.829 --> 00:28:20.269 I think, to sort of see what is God doing in 00:28:20.269 --> 00:28:22.369 the life of this church? What is God doing in 00:28:22.369 --> 00:28:26.490 your life, Jen? Yeah, and how we all get to... 00:28:26.940 --> 00:28:30.299 participate in that as a church family and as 00:28:30.299 --> 00:28:33.359 individuals who are also being called by Christ. 00:28:33.519 --> 00:28:36.859 Yeah. So thank you for tuning in to this week's 00:28:36.859 --> 00:28:39.319 episode of Trinity Talks, and we will see you 00:28:39.319 --> 00:28:39.700 next week.