Liminality in Christian Confirmation
Image and Pilgrimage in Christian Culture discusses pilgrimage, and sepcifically liminality. Liminality is most basically described as "a state and process of mid transition in a rite of passage. "
I can relate this to my experience of getting confirmed in my methodist church.
Most of the students in my church go through confirmation at around 8th grade. In order to actually be confirmed in our church we have to go through a couple month long process where we read, and learn about our religion, and discover our faith in a personal way. This process also involves 2 retreats in which all of the students travel to a location for th weekend, and further learn about our religion, and our faith, anf our church. The process was ot a particular hard one, but not an easy one either. The whole time I was participating in these classes, and doign the homework and lessons I was in mid-transition from being simply a beleiver of the Christian faith, to being confirmed in my church, which is a declaration to the church, and to God of our faith, and a promise -in a sense we make to our faith and to the church. I didnt want to partcipate in the process initially, due to the fact that I was already pretty overwhelmed from schoolwork, and didnt want to add on more work. I additinally wasnt sure if I was ready to make such a commitment, and to confirm my faith in front of my family,and congregation. After being talked into by my parents, and my youth leader I went through the process, and wa sso happy I did. The grueling-ish couple month long process made the confirmation all the more worth it. The process before I was confirmed relates to liminality because I was passing through a state where I was ganing valuable knowledge I had not previusly posessed that didn't exhibit characteristics of my previous stance in religion, and on way to a whole new confirmed faith.
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