Confirmation Ministry

Welcome to the Confirmation program at Gethsemane Lutheran Faith Community.  If you are thinking about enrolling your child, we would like to take this opportunity to introduce you to the program.

Our Goals

Our goal is to nurture the faith planted in your child by the Holy Spirit at his/her baptism. We want your child to see Gethsemane as a safe refuge from the complexities of being a teenager; a place where they are able to develop lasting friendships and receive loving support. We seek to share with our youth a love for God’s Word. We seek to help each youth discover God’s plans for their lives. Our goal is to help you, their parents and guardians, to launch your children into life sure in the knowledge of God’s deep love for them.

General Information

This is a 2 1/2 year program for youth entering 7th grade through those in 9th grade. The 9th graders will be confirmed on Reformation Day of their 9th grade year. There are five components to the program.

1. Gathering on Wednesday evenings.
2. Bible study and discussion on Sunday mornings.
3. Regular participation in worship and church community life.
4. One retreat each year covering an aspect of Luther’s Small Catechism.
5. Faith paper development during the 9th grade retreat (in early September of the 9th grade year). This faith paper will be read by the confirmand during a gathering of invited guests the Saturday before confirmation.
   

Our Promise

These children are so precious to us that we need all of us to make the program work for their best benefit. As staff and youth committee, we promise to do the following for your family during the next several years:

• We will be faithful in prayer for your family by name.
• We will try to communicate clearly and frequently with you.
• We will be available to you for questions, concerns or suggestions.
• We will work to generate enthusiasm and recognition for the youth in our church.
• We will involve parents in activities as much as they are able to be involved.
• We will make it enjoyable and meaningful for your child.

Your Promise

In return, we ask several things from parents:

• Pray for the youth committee and your child.
• Attend worship and communion regularly with your child.
• Our expectation is that each Confirmation Program family will be involved in at least one area of the Confirmation Program.
• Possibilities include helping with Wednesday night gym time, providing treats, keeping attendance records, helping with Servant Events or Fellowship Events and working on the winter retreat.
• Bring concerns to us right away.
• Make this program a priority for your child.
  

Wednesday Evenings

The kids will gather at Gethsemane every Wednesday night except the first Wednesday of the month. Most Wednesdays will be used to study curriculum based around Luther’s Small Catechism. There will also be Wednesday night Servant Events and Fellowship Events scheduled throughout the year. 

Sunday Mornings

The Confirmation Program contains the expectation that the confirmands and their families will attend worship and Sunday Morning Christian Growth. Gethsemane has two worship times: an 8:30 am traditional worship and a 10:30 am contemporary worship. At 9:30 there are Christian Growth Opportunities for all ages. The confirmation youth will attend a Bible study and discussion group led by Gethsemane Youth and Family staff, while adults are welcomed at the Adult Christian Growth venue for a program led by Pastor Rick White.

Retreats

Each January there will be a retreat scheduled at a local retreat center. The purpose of this retreat is to have an opportunity away from normal surroundings to present material in more depth. These opportunities are also important in terms of developing lasting relationships between students and teachers. Our goal is to keep these relationships strong all during the high school years. Retreats are very important and difficult to make up in terms of material, but more so in terms of fellowship with the other students. The retreats typically cost about $60.00. Parents will be given specifics once the retreat plans are finalized.

Faith Paper

This is the capstone of your child’s confirmation. They will have the opportunity to write and speak about what their faith means to them in their own words. This paper is developed at a retreat in September of the 10th grade year and polished over the next several weeks. The actual Confirmation service takes place on Reformation Sunday (the last Sunday in October). On the Saturday before Confirmation, a dinner is hosted by the 8th and 9th grade families for the 10th grade confirmands and their guests. The high point of the evening is the reading of these papers by the confirmands before their families and friends. It is a very powerful experience for both the families and the confirmand.

Summary and Contact Information

We hope this information provides you with an overview of the Gethsemane Faith Community Confirmation program. Please direct any questions to Pastor White at rwhite@geth.org or Deb Grzywinski at dgrzywinski@geth.org.