A few weeks ago I received a college graduation announcement from someone that had been in my confirmation class many classes ago. Amanda's class was particularly memorable for the name they bestowed upon people who define themselves as United Methodist. It came from a discussion of our church history. During class one of the members asked: "Who are all these Weesley people I keep reading about in our book?" The Weesley people being of course, the Wesleys. The class decided they liked that pronunciation better than the traditional one, and proceeded from there. A few minutes later someone asked how we got the name Methodist in the first place. Let me remind you how that came about so that no one has to retake confirmation classes. When John and Charles Wesley attended Oxford University they formed a Holy Club. The group gave themselves to a very orderly way of life. Certain times were set aside for praying, for studying, for visiting the sick and those in prison. So ordered was their life that other students began to mock their rigid schedule, calling them the "Method-ists." On hearing that one of the class members remarked: "So, basically, we are dorks." Well, yes, that about summed it up, and we became the Weesley Dorks.

This morning is a milestone day – we celebrate the culmination of all of the promises heard during the Easter season. It is the coming of the promised Holy Spirit that will guard and guided the disciples. It is the Spirit's power that will enable the disciples to continue what was begun when Jesus was present with them. In remembrance of that we celebrate the birthday of the church – for we are the ones now entrusted to continue that work. We also celebrate confirmation and two of our youth commit themselves to living out the promises once made for them by their parents at their baptisms.

We celebrate the commitments present by reading church history as recorded in Acts. For the Acts is the description of the church's birth and work. It details the formation of the church as the Holy Spirit breathes wind and flame into the first disciples and sends them out to tell the Good News. It is about faith communities banding together even in the midst of persecution – about their lifestyle that causes people to look at them in awe, and ask: "who are these people?"

In the midst of the milestones and commitments we celebrate this morning is the question of identity:

In light of the confirmation promises that are made this morning we ask what the difference is between attending and belonging. Perhaps it is the akin to the difference between simply living together and being married. In the act of commitment we pledge ourselves to something that is bigger than we are, we say that the needs of the group are bigger than my needs as an individual and that there is cost to my commitment. To be a part of the church is to say we are defined by the kingdom of God as seen in the church and not simply by our own needs and wants.

The difference between attending and belonging is seen in how we live beyond the walls of Sunday morning. Since 1932 our membership vows have us say we will support the church by our prayers, our presence, our gifts and our service. Beginning next year, our General Conference voted to add another level to our vows and we will commit ourselves to prayers, presence, gifts, service and witness. The rationale for this addition was given as: "Membership vows of The United Methodist Church do not include witness, an integral part of laity's role from earliest Methodism, in members' participation in the church's life. Because congregations repeat these vows along with new members, a pledge to 'witness' will remind members to be witnesses in the community."

The spectrum of our witness is illustrated for me by first a TV commercial and then a phone call. The closing line of a current commercial for a low cost discount chain says: "Have everything you want, without the price." That phrase struck me as summing up so much of what goes on these days – people wanting it all, but wanting it all without any strings attached, without much effort on their part … and certainly without any sacrifice. Our culture celebrates that as something to be attained. The phone call was from someone in Bloomington, Illinois. A stranger. He said he had a letter addressed to me, and when he read the address it was my correct address. He told me the return address which I also recognized. Somehow the letter had ended up in his mailbox, and he said he would re-address it and get it to me. It was a small thing, yes … but it struck me that instead of discarding my mail, or simply putting it back in the hands of the Postal Service, he had gone the extra mile and sought me out. I don't know anything else about this person, but he was an example of the witness to which we are called to as God's people.

Those two illustrations frame for me what it is to be part of the church. First, in committing ourselves to belong to this church community we are saying we are a part of something that is bigger than we are … that we will be a part of creating God's kingdom. In the church we are about implementing God's policy, not our own. Unlike the commercial that says we can have it all without the cost – our commitment says there is cost. For we follow in the example of Jesus Christ – a life lived with great cost.

Secondly, we are called to be witnesses in the world at every level of our actions. It is often said that the devil is in the details … well, I like to think that God is in the details. A stranger in Bloomington, Illinois is our example. We are called to go out of our way in "careful living." How we live our lives – from the smallest detail on up will tell the world that we have committed ourselves to implementing God's policy, not our own.

This morning as we celebrate the birth of the church, and stand with our confirmands in their commitment to belong … we recommit ourselves to knowing the cost of discipleship as we follow in the example of Christ. For, remember, we are the Weesley Dorks – who, in knowing God's love for us go forth to serve and to witness to others.