The 8th grade, my 14th year of life, marked a
significant transition point. There were several clear indications that I moved
from being a young child to being a young man.
One of those rituals was Confirmation at my church. This was a ritual in
which we expressed a re-confirmation of our status as beloved children of God.
This first happened at our infant baptism but was then “confirmed” when we were
14 or in the eighth grade.
Significant rituals marked the Confirmation occasion. In my time it was
always on Palm Sunday, the Sunday before Easter. First was the matter of dress.
My parents took me to Walburg Mercantile General Store. There we picked out my
first-ever store-bought suit. It was smart and cost a total of $7.00, a major
investment for clothes. I got a nice tie and anew pair of black patent leather
shoes. I wore my new attire it with
pride for years and still have that now 73 year-old Kodak photo to prove how
proudly I wore that suit.
The second phase of the ritual was a “public examination” in front of
the entire congregation. The pastor asked the questions, called upon a
“confirmand” to answer loud enough so the whole church could hear. The anxiety
around this ritual was somewhat reduced by at least two factors. We pretty well
knew what the questions would be and even the preferred exact words in the
answer. Also the pastor wanted to prove that he had taught us well; so he knew
on whom he should call for the easy or the more difficult responses.
The ritual was also important because each of us was given a
“Confirmation verse”. This was a short text from the Bible. Mine was Romans
1:16: “I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ for it is the power of God unto
salvation to everyone that believeth.”
In those days, Confirmation also meant we were allowed for the first
time to partake of the Sacrament of Holy Communion, a very important ritual for
me to this day. “First Communion” was always on Maunday Thursday, the Thursday
after Palm Sunday. We used a strange procedure as a part of this ritual. We
knelt at an altar rail on the left and received the host (breat). Then we got
up, walked behind the altar and knelt on the other side and received the wine.
Of course, those were always several social dimensions to the religious ceremony of
Confirmation. One was that our sponsors (God-parents) joined us for the service
and at the big meal in our home afterwards. My sponsor all made it (except for one
who had tragically drowned while he was still a young man). Of course, the
sponsors gave us gifts. I remember the incredible gift of a full $5.00 and leather
bound King James version of the Bible. That Bible (though twice rebound since)
is still a treasure to me.
There was still another coming of age privilege attached to
Confirmation. We were now allowed to become members of The Walther League. The
Walther League was the official young people’s society of the church. The very
first ritual after our Palm Sunday Confirmation which we as new Walther
Leaguers could participate in was an Easter egg hunt on Easter, the first
Sunday after Palm Sunday. It was a thrill for me to look for those eggs hidden
in the pasture around our home.
Two unwritten permissions granted with Confirmation were the right to
”have a date” and for some, the first romantic kiss. I admit I was rather slow in
accepting those new challenges.
The other major rite of passage was the 8th
grade graduation ceremony. This was a big deal, always held on the evening of
the last day of school. The graduates assembled on an out door stage. The audience,
which could number as many as 200 sat in chairs and benches under the trees.
There was always an “outside guest speaker” often the principal of a nearby
Lutheran school. The graduation class chose a motto and posted it on the wall
at the back of the stage. Ours was, “Climb Though the Path Be Rugged”. The
class salutatorian delivered the welcome speech, the valedictorian, and the
farewell speech. That was my job. I wrote it out and I remember my teacher (who
was also my father) suggesting that I remove from my speech one word I had
planned to use. The word was “antagonisms” will be as in “now all our old antagonisms
will be left behind as we seek new life adventures.” I had been so proudly
anticipating using that 4-syllable word, but my teacher was right in tamping
down my eight-grade oratory.
Thus came to an end my elementary school years, certainly among the
best eight years of my life.
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