Wednesday Word . . . Confirmation
The most recent Confirmation class began this past Sunday. We have six participants and I’m looking forward to exploring with them their questions about faith and life in general.
The program we are using is called Confirm Not Conform and is a new-to-me format. In short it values questions over answers and encourages the participants to explore the faith rather than be receptors of what they must believe.
One part of this program is that it pairs the prospective confirmand up with an adult “mentor.” The adult is present at four of the sessions throughout the curriculum and gives the youth another resource to explore their faith without judgment and without feeling like they need to ask their priest “the right questions.”
At our first session the kids and adults paired up with each other and had a series of questions to go over. As I walked around the parish hall listening and checking in, it was nice to hear each pair move from a simple question and answer period to a time of conversation. And it was nice to see this intergenerational group having a good time. Several of the adults, who were at first uncertain about their participation, said they were glad they were asked to be part of this.
The course runs for fourteen sessions, and with Bp. Ousley making his visitation to Saint Luke’s on January 4, that means we will meet almost every Sunday between now and then. The six kids in the class have made a commitment to attending all fourteen sessions. Whether they choose to be Confirmed has yet to be determined, but they will have a good foundation from which to make that decision.
In the coming months, please keep this Confirmation class in your prayers as we explore and discuss our faith in the context of the Episcopal church.
Blessings,
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