Rituals and Young People

I had the fortune (misfortune, some might say) of growing up and going to school in a very small town.  In fact, between Kindergarten and High School, we had two buildings, which had about 20 classrooms total.  In the younger grades, we would change classrooms each year, moving from one to the next as we moved up in grade levels.  But around Jr. High, we started changing rooms depending on the class, not upon our grade level.

In other words, I didn't really go through any kind of transition to mark that I had moved from Elementary to Jr. High.  Same building, I knew all the same teachers, we all ate in the same cafeteria, etc.  I know for some of you, who went to a larger school, there was probably the transition from one school to another.  You may have had an easier transition, knowing that you had moved and grown along the way.

Rituals serve that kind of purpose.  They help us realize that we have moved from one state of being to another.  In some of my reading, I have seen a number of different cultures where the beginning of manhood or womanhood is marked by a particular ceremony or ritual.  In some places, the young 10-13 year old is taken out with the men on some kind of hunt or just time spent away from the family, and when he returns, he has become a man in their eyes.  It seems that, when it comes to our faith life, this could also be a helpful thing.

In my church tradition, we have a few elements like this.  Typically around 6th grade, young people begin serving as acolytes, which has different meanings, depending on the church.  For some, this begins a more intensive period of instruction in the faith, culminating in some kind of confirmation ceremony.

I think these kind of things are helpful.  In fact, I have given much thought on how to give such transitions and rituals even more meaning, especially for younger people.  As a young man or woman grows, I believe it's helpful to have a ceremony to let them know that the expectations on them have changed, and that they have now entered a new "segment" of life.