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	Youth Confirmation Class

The Confirmation class will be for students interested in being confirmed in the spring.  Confirmation is a serious commitment made by a Christian to God and to God’s church.  Confirmation is also the welcoming of an individual believer as a mature disciple in the wider Church Catholic.  In confirmation, the Holy Spirit strengthens the confirmand so that the Christian can accept a greater leadership role within the church and function as a representative of the church in the world.  Confirmation is not mandatory or a graduation rite from Church School.  Since confirmation is not a requirement of church attendance or a barrier to full communion in the church, the decision to be confirmed should be a deliberate one that only the individual believer can make, certainly with consultation with clergy and parents.  A student may choose to take the class as a catechetical exercise without deciding to become confirmed. 

The Confirmation class will dwell on theology and ethics as well as learning to talk about the faith.  The point of the class is not to indoctrinate, but, as St. Anselm of Canterbury wrote, to have a “faith seeking understanding.”  Our class will allow any and all questioning of Christian theology in the hopes that a greater understanding of the faith can be achieved.  Because the class addresses difficult questions of faith and creates an environment of trust among the confirmands, regular attendance is necessary for the benefit of both the individual confirmand and for the others in the class. 

The Confirmation class will generally meet at 5:00 on Sunday afternoons, usually three times a month.  Please note that the Confirmation Retreat begins on Friday, September 18^th.  This overnight retreat is a great way for the students to get to know each other better and to begin to investigate the difficult issues that they will encounter throughout the class.  I am certainly aware that the Confirmands have other commitments on Saturdays, but the retreat should take priority for this one weekend.  Other Saturday activities later in the year will not be mandatory. 

Other than class attendance, the students will also be expected to take part in a ministry of the church.  This ministry could be anything that is important to the life of the church.  Possibilities include, but are not limited to: being an acolyte, greeter, usher, youth choir assistant or member, regular worker at a soup kitchen or food pantry, helper with a fundraiser, maintainer of church school bulletin boards, church photographer, etc.  Through the process of confirmation, the students will increasingly see that the Church of the Redeemer is their church and they are leaders in it. 

Confirmands are also encouraged (but not required) to participate in the Youth Bible Study on Sunday mornings.  As you can tell by our schedule, the Confirmation class covers a lot of material, and unfortunately, a lot of basic knowledge about Biblical stories and Bible literacy skills cannot be taught in this class.  A regular youth Bible study will be offered on Sunday morning at 9:40 to 10:10.  Basic knowledge of and engagement with Bible stories helps a Christian grow in their faith.  Bible study is an important part of a Christian and Liberal education.  Current college freshmen go to school with an equivalent of a 4^th grade level education in religion; a poor commentary for our Christian education and our society’s interest in really understanding Christian/religious issues.   

Homework – there will be very little homework assigned in this class.  Students will be engaging in a brief Bible study at the beginning of each class, and the students will be expected to have read the chapters assigned by class time.  We will be reading the Gospel of Matthew throughout the year.  This Gospel is 26 pages long in a standard pew bible, so the reading is not extensive, but students should read carefully.  Later class sessions will conclude with a brief presentation given by one of the students on a topic that we covered in class.  The presentation will discuss how the material is relevant in the real world.  We have designed the presentations to be a fun project that will get the students engaged in practical theology.  Students may use popular music, movies, cartoons, video games, or anything they happen to be interested in to demonstrate how theological/Biblical concepts exist in the real world. 

Classes will run an hour and movie night will usually be two hours, but this will be based on the length of the movie. 

I am very excited about this year’s Confirmation class.  I think we are going to have a great time.  The class is going to be educational and formational, but also a lot of fun.  The students will have several opportunities this year to spend time together outside of class, including a trip to New York City - details to follow. 

-The Reverend Marc G. Eames

Confirmation Class Dates Currently Scheduled Winter/Spring 2010

Date                Time    Topic 

1/10                  5:00 pm         The Nicene Creed – Who is God?

1/24                  5:00 pm         The Nicene Creed – Who is Jesus?  Is the Spirit Necessary?

1/31                  5:00 pm         Confirmation Movie Night

2/7                     5:00 pm         Baptism and Confirmation

2/21                   5:00 pm         Sacraments of Restoration, Sacraments of  Vocation

2/26-28              3:30 pm        Nightwatch (New York City Overnight w/Broadway play on 2/27)

3/7                      5:00 pm         Eucharist

3/28                    5:00 pm         The Book of Common Prayer

4/11                     5:00 pm         Confirmation Movie Night

4/25                     5:00 pm         Mission and the Church Catholic

5/2                        8:30 am         Walk for Hunger (All Parish Activity)

5/9                        5:00 pm         Your Ministry (Final Questions)

5/16                      10:30 am       Youth Sunday

5/22                      10:00 am       Confirmation (Good Shepherd, Waban)

5/23                      10:30 am      Pentecost (Parish celebration of the Confirmands)

Italicized activities are optional.