CONFIRMATION CLASS
2009-2010

• The Purpose of Confirmation
• Confirmation Goals
• Your Commitment to Confirmation
• Format of the Class
• Mentor Ministry
• The Confirmation Experience
• 2009-2010 Class Schedule

The 2009-2010 confirmation class will meet every Sunday morning beginning September 13, 2009, through May 16, 2010, in Room 104 from 9:45 to 10:45 am.

Confirmation is open to any youth who has completed 8th grade and who seeks to know more about what it means to be a member of the church.

Our 2009-2010 Confirmation Orientation will take place on Thursday, September 10 at 7:30 p.m.

If you are interested in participating, please contact Allison Lineberger for registration information.

THE PURPOSE OF CONFIRMATION

My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. -Colossians 2:2-3

Confirmation builds disciples. Disciple means student or learner, not expert or professional.

It is not enough to memorize facts about Jesus or the Church or verses from the Bible. The goal is that you will come to know and follow Christ personally, drawing strength from the community of faith in which you learn and worship, and begin to live a life of discipleship through the church and its mission in the world.

Confirmation class gives us a time to think about the hard questions of faith. We may not find all the answers- and some of the questions will continue to be mysteries we search for all our lives- but we begin that search and know that, in all these things, we walk with God.

Welcome to the confirmation journey. You have been traveling the road of life and faith for quite a while. There is much along the way to enjoy and learn. Jesus invites all who want to be his disciple to follow him and to walk with him in the journey of life and faith. May God guide you as you consider Jesus Christ’s invitation.

CONFIRMATION GOALS

During the course of this year we will work toward:

• Clarifying beliefs about God
• Understanding what it means to be a disciple of Jesus
• Learning how the Holy Spirit works in the life of individuals, the life of the Church, and in the world
• Exploring the worship experience as it calls the faith community together and expresses our most valued beliefs
• A more mature understanding of what scripture is and how it has come to the faith community
• Understanding the sacraments and the Reformed doctrine connected to them
• Discovering the importance of Presbyterian tradition in our history, church government, and the responsibility to the world
• Understanding the meaning and responsibility of a faith profession within the Presbyterian Church and how that commitment is expressed through active membership in the church

In addition to this growth in knowledge, we will:

• Discover the Christian community as a place of support, encouragement, and guidance
• Experience a deepened sense of belonging to Lewinsville and to the Church universal
• Come to understand faith as a journey and not as a goal
• Experience an awareness of God’s love at work in our lives and in the world

YOUR COMMITMENT TO CONFIRMATION

This ministry can only work with the commitment of each of the participants and their families. There are many demands and pressures on our time with school, sports, work, and other extracurricular activities. We ask, however, if you choose to participate in this ministry, that you make it a top priority among these other demands on your time. The more you are there, the more you will receive from the experience.

FORMAT OF THE CLASS

The Confirmation Journey is a year-long, intensive ministry from September through May. We meet every Sunday morning for class during the church school hour. In addition to the material covered in class, at-home assignments will be an important part of our learning experience. Several activities outside of the classroom are also required– retreats, meetings with mentors, weekly worship, session meeting, service projects, fellowship meetings, etc. In the spring, all participants will write a statement expressing their faith in their own words, to be presented personally to session during a called meeting. Those participants who have faithfully met the requirements and desire uniting with the church will be formally received into membership.

MENTOR MINISTRY

Each Confirmand will choose a mentor to journey with them.

You will meet with your mentor for 4 scheduled WALT(Worship And Lunch Together) Sundays to attend worship and then have lunch with them afterwards for conversation. The Mentors will join us for the World Religions Retreat in the fall. They will play an integral role in helping you with your faith statement in the spring.

Your mentors are there to walk with you this year and beyond. We learn to practice faith best when we have an example in front of us. Your mentors are this example for you. Take advantage of the resource you have in your mentors!! Talk with them about faith questions they have struggled with, about what it is like to be a church member, or about anything else. They are also there to help you when you write your faith statement in the spring. The more you interact with your mentor, the more enriching an experience confirmation will be for you and the better you will understand what it means to be a member of the church.

THE CONFIRMATION EXPERIENCE

The Confirmation experience is designed to incorporate six basic areas of church membership. This gives the participants an idea of what responsible, active church membership involves.

2009-2010 CLASS SCHEDULE

Updated September 7, 2009