Kent School’s Confirmation service this year was on Thursday, April 19.

Dean Kelderman describes Confirmation as, “a service in which teenagers reaffirm their commitment to the church.” When a person is still a newborn, their parents state their promises for what their child’s involvement in the church and how they’ll help him or her. Dean Kelderman says that Confirmation is the point when the child, grown up, then says: “You know what! I want to say those promises!”

Confirmation can only be performed by a bishop. Thus, our Confirmation service is presided over by The Right Reverend Laura J. Ahrens, serving as Bishop Suffragan of Connecticut’s Episcopal Church, who has responsibility over the episcopal schools and churches in our area.

The people who went up for Confirmation this year have attended Confirmation classes since January (about 7 to 8). In these classes, Dean Kelderman says they talk about church history, scripture, theology, heresy, Nicene Creed, and the Bible. It’s quite random as to who is in the classes, and thus who ends up being confirmed. For instance, this year, they’re all men. Last year, it was all women. Confirmation has no set date, though the church prefers to do it during Spring.

Mr. Fischer and Hien Truong ‘21 have been in this class since the beginning of this year. Hien describes classes as more like a conversation – an opportunity for self-learning. Hien tells me that there have been many more people that were in this group earlier on, but have now dropped out. Having stood up in front of everyone in Chapel, Hien says he felt “honored.” “People have come by choice and decided to sing … they are brother and sisters, and after the Confirmation, plenty of people came to congratulate me. I felt supported.” Hien’s parents aren’t religious. However, his grandparents are. His joining of the class was what he called “instinct.” Hien wanted to discover a new way of life and how to live. “Being confirmed, and being in that religion, speaks to me.”