Confirmation

Youth in grades 10 and 11 may participate in Confirmation class which is offered every other year.

 

Confirmation is an in-depth, year-long process that begins with the youth pilgrimage during the summer.  The pilgrimage is followed by monthly meetings that guide youth through a process of discernment and articulation of their own faith values, in preparation for possible confirmation in the spring.

 

Confirmation is the affirmation of the promises made for us at our baptism.

We spend the year asking questions and delving into the mystery that is our faith.  This confirmation journey is not meant to be strictly a personal one.  It is done in community with a group of young people, leaders and mentors who covenant with each other to walk this path together.  For some, confirmation is viewed as preparation for joining the church – although we will be thrilled to see our youth become members of FCC Natick, that is not our primary goal – we hope that through this process they will better understand what is most important to them and what their guiding principles will be.  

 

By the end of the year the confirmands will write their own Credo, or statement of belief.  In order to do that successfully, we need to unpack a lot of questions.  Most people find that their personal faith is not easy to define – it may be simpler to define the creed of a particular denomination of Christianity than to put our own beliefs on paper but that is exactly what we will be asking of these teens – to cut through the dogma and get to the core of what they are thinking about God and the church right now.  It is an ever-moving target as they struggle with questions and doubts that are very real – the important thing is to be willing to engage in the process; to ask the hard questions; and dig below the surface to find what is most important to you.

 

CONFIRMATION COURSE OUTLINE

 

1. Community Life – Why Church?

 

2. The Bible / UCC History and Tradition / Intro to Credo

 

3. Who is God?

 

4. Who is Jesus?

 

5. Who is Holy Spirit?

 

6. The Body of Christ / Discipleship

 

7.  God’s Gift and Our Response (Grace / Justice and Peace)