CONFIRMATION AT ST. MICHAEL'S CHURCH.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XXII, Issue 1331, 15 December 1864, Page 3

CONFIRMATION AT ST. MICHAEL'S CHURCH.

A confirmation according to the rites of the Church of England was held on Sunday last, in St, Michael's Church, at 5.30 p.m. At that hour the church was completely fillel, many persons being unable to find room., :

The ceremony was performed by the Lord Bishop of the Diocese, prayers being offered by the Ven. the Archdeacon of Christchurch, and the lessons reae by the Kev. C. Bowen. There were 62 candidated namely, 44 males and 18 females; these were ranges, in the seats immediately in front of the chanced The hymn " Veni Creator," and a portion of thl, 119 th Psalm, were sung by the choir. The prayers of the evening baring been concluded, the ceremony of confirmation commenced. The Bishop, after a short impressive address, put the question required by the ritual to each candidate separately. Having received their responses, his Lordship besought them to unite in silent prayer for : the Divine Blessing upon the "solemn undertaking they were about to engage in, inviting the rest of I

the congregation to unite with them in this act of devotion. This was accordingly done, and the Ye* verential silence was particularly solemn in effect. After the rite of confirmation had been dispensed, the Bishop addressed the candidates. He remarked that they had done well in coming to be confirmed; their doing so showed that they possessed the intention of complying with the' directions contained in one of the questions of the Church Catechism, to the | effect that they considered themselves bound by the vows made on their behalf by their Sponsors at their baptism. True, that proinise was made for them at a time in their lives when they were unable to appreciate its value or its importance, but it was not the less binding on that account. This day they were called upon to " ratify and confirm " that promise in their own persons. On the performance of the duties contained in this promise depended, in a great measure, the happiness of their present, and certainly that of their future, lives. They must reflect that they had by their own act placed themselves in the position of those who had "vowed a vow" unto their Heavenly Father to continue His faithful soldiers and servants unto their live'send. Presuming that they had done so in sincerity and had truthfully resolved to carry out the solemn obligations they had entered into, he should rather confine himself to giving them some directions which might assist them in so doing, than dwell any further upon this point. This he proceeded to do, mentioning the wonderful benefits which had been conferred by the effusion of the Holy Spirit upon the early Christians, whose successors they were, and enforcing his observations by referring to the precepts of our Redeemer, and to the still more forcible illustration of those precepts contained in His life, instancing His unwearied zeal in His Father's business from His early childhood; in His own words—'• It was His meat and drink to do the will of His Heavenly Father." In conclusion, the Bishop enumerated some of the dangers and hindrances to which they would, in all probability, be exposed, exhorting them not to trust in their own strength to overcome these obstacles, but in the wisdom and strength which would be given in answer to prayer.

A hymn having been sung, the Offertory, which was devoted to the purposes of the Maori mission, was made, and the ceremony was concluded by the Benediction being pronounced by the Bishop.