Andrew and Cameron had their Confirmation Saturday, May 16 at our small, local chapel. Cameron is in the year kids do their confirmation in Beligum and we had Andrew do it also since he'll be past the age for it when we return (I think). It was more interesting for them to go through the process together.
The boys were in a small group which met every 2 weeks or so throughout the year. Their group leader was Joske, a lively, friendly woman who was a fun leader for the boys. They had things to discuss in their group and then did outreach things like helping selling at an Amfar World Store, visiting elderly people at care centers and helping out at a soup kitchen downtown.
As the confirmation drew closer, all the groups met in the chapel to practice singing for the mass and the order for the service. The group of women who put it all together did a good job of getting the kids involved in the mass. They sang, brought things to the alter, gave readings and two girls played violins.
All the kids wore robes for the service. We didn't try Andrew's robe on until the morning of the confirmation. (I know, not smart of me not to do it sooner.) Because he's older (and taller) than the other kids, the largest size of robe didn't go past his shins. This wouldn't have been a problem except that he put it on over his long, nice shorts (that all the kids were wearing) and I took one look at his skinny ankles sticking out the bottom and realized he'd look much better with long pants. Except his only long pants these days are jeans! So I grabbed a pair of Kevin's dress slacks, had Andrew put them on and he used his belt to cinch the waist. We all had a good laugh at Andrew in Kevin's bulky (on Andrew) pants!
The priest in red in the picture below is a Dom at a monestary and served as the Vormheer (confirmation bestower?) at the mass. (He stepped back onto the alter to reach Andrew's forehead to make the sign of the cross on it. Everyone chuckled at that.) Our neighbor, Jan, (also in the photo) stood in as godfather for both boys. He took the boys and Kevin on a day trip of river rafting the day after the confirmation. The boys told me it was one of the best days they've had since we've been here. Jan's brother arranged for the boats and had all the gear, and Jan's daughter, Charlotte, went too. (More about the raft trip in another post.)
The regular priest, Priester Michael (below), presided over the mass. Very nice man.
The whole group after the service.
No comments:
Post a Comment