September 2009
Dear Confirmation Family,
We hope this finds you doing well and having a wonderful summer! We’d love to hear all about your adventures! We’ll be praying for you as you make the transition from summer to school.
When Lindsay became the Director of Youth & Young Adult Ministries in March 2007, we took a serious look at the Confirmation program. We want Confirmation to be understood as a beginning, not an ending. Our goals for the youth at this stage in their lives are to see them:
*Interacting and building relationships with God, caring adults, and one another.
*Regularly sharing their gifts and talents with the church and community.
*Balancing learning about Christianity and doing Christianity.
*Transforming into lifelong disciples of Christ through CONTINUAL involvement in the life of the church.
In other words, we want to SEE them, ALL OF THEM, involved in the church after Confirmation!
To this end we’ve made the following enhancements to the Confirmation program: We’ve expanded the Confirmation program to include 8th and 9th graders. Any 8th grader who thinks s/he may eventually want to get confirmed will be required to be a part of LOGOS on Wednesday nights from 6:00-8:00 p.m. October-April (following the Appleton School District calendar). LOGOS is a Biblically based, four-part program that seeks to connect youth with God, caring adults, and one another. It’s been around for over 50 years! The LOGOS program is used for Junior High and Senior High youth group at our church. At LOGOS, youth will participate in:
*Recreation
*Family Time (where they’ll share a meal together)
*Worship Skills (where they’ll learn about different gifts they have and have an opportunity to share these gifts with the church community)
*Bible Study
Being involved with LOGOS will allow Confirmands to interact with other youth during recreation time, dinner, and worship skills time. It is during the Bible Study portion of LOGOS that the 8th and 9th graders will meet by themselves (8th graders in one classroom, 9th graders in another) and use the "Claim the Name" United Methodist curriculum as Confirmation preparation.
In addition to the Wednesday night opportunities, those 8th and 9th graders interested in being confirmed are expected to do the following:
1. Because we believe it is important for youth to feel a sense of community with one another and the caring adults around them, we ask 8th grade youth to attend the Junior High Fall Retreat at Camp Lucerne in October. This is an extremely important time of community building.
2. Because we believe it is important for youth to practice sharing the special gifts God has given them, we ask youth to share their gifts and talents with the church community once per quarter. This could mean your youth is a greeter, liturgist, usher, or helps with children’s time. Or, your youth could volunteer in the nursery or in Sunday school. There are numerous ways to be involved. Once your youth helps out, email Lindsay with the date and way in which your youth was involved.
3. Because we believe it is important for youth to have a healthy balance between learning about Christianity and living our lives as Christians in a way that is pleasing to God, we ask youth to participate in local mission work through our church once per quarter. This might involve organizing and holding a fund-raiser for or working directly at a local organization like the Emergency Shelter. Once your youth helps out, email Lindsay with the date and way in which your youth was involved.
4. Because we believe the church IS the people and we need to be present IN church to interact with people, we ask that 8th grade youth be present in worship at least 2x/month and 9th grade youth be present in worship at least 1x/month to complete sermon notes. If your family attends church while traveling, please turn in a copy of that church’s bulletin along with your worship notes to Lindsay.
5. Because we want youth to understand that this is a serious decision and we want to see that they have in fact taken this time seriously, we ask youth to complete a “faith interview” before they’ll be allowed to participate in Confirmation Sunday. This will take place with Lindsay, a pastor, and a member of the Confirmation team.
When we become members of this church, we’re promising to be involved with our prayers, presence, gifts, service, and witness. We believe that these changes will help Confirmands practice these things through their years in Confirmation so that after they’re confirmed, they’ll follow through on the commitments they’ve made. By making a commitment to be present in the life of the church, we’re allowing our relationship with Christ and with other Christians to grow deeper.
We hope you will take the time to talk and pray about getting confirmed with your youth. This is a big commitment and it’s a commitment you’re choosing to make for a lifetime. We’ve enclosed a schedule of important dates for you to note. Please feel free to call Lindsay with any questions as you make this decision.
Peace ✌,
Lindsay Sulik & the Confirmation Team
734-2677, ext. 315 (work)
450-0899 (cell)
Steps to Getting Confirmed
As an 8th & 9th grader...
1. Sign-up for and attend LOGOS on Wednesdays 6:00-8:00 p.m. (includes dinner) October-April following the Appleton School District calendar. ***If it is impossible for you to make a commitment on Wednesday nights as a 9th grader, please talk with Lindsay about an alternate plan.***
2. Sign-up for and attend the Junior High Fall Retreat in October.
3. Be present in church.
a. Share your gifts in church once per quarter.
b. Participate in local mission work through church once per quarter.
c. Fill out sermon notes twice per month as an 8th grader and once per month as a 9th grader.
As a 9th 10th, 11th or 12th grader (once you decide to get Confirmed)...
4. Meet with Lindsay, a pastor and a member of the Confirmation team to discuss getting confirmed. Commit to ways you will continue to be involved in the life of the church.
5. Plan and participate in Confirmation Sunday in April.