Author: Paul Goodman

Hope Lutheran Church

Welcome to Confirmation 2015-2016

Fall 2015

What is Confirmation?

Confirmation is a lifelong process that begins with the Baptism of your child. When you baptize your child, you are asked to make several promises. 1) To live with them among God’s faithful people, 2) To bring them to the Word of God and the holy supper, 3) To teach them the Lord’s Prayer, the Creed, and the ten commandments, 4) To place in their hands the holy scriptures, and 5) to nurture them in faith and prayer. The programs that we offer at Hope Lutheran are to help you fulfill these promises. Each year between birth and 7th grade, children and youth take place in a stepping stones event that remind you of these promises and encourage you on your journey. In 7th grade, youth begin a 3 year process of learning, that culminates in their own affirmation of baptism. Along the way, youth make the decision to make their faith their own. This is an exciting process as it marks the beginning of a new adventure in the faith lives of our young people. Many times in the past, confirmation has been seen somewhat like a graduation. However, we see confirmation Sunday as a mere step in a lifelong process of affirming one’s baptism. Throughout the three years youth will study the bible, the small catechism (which includes the Lord’s prayer, the Apostle’s Creed, and the 10 commandments) and also explore topics that are relevant to their own personal faith. It is our hope not to provide all the answers, but to supply our youth with the tools to ask the right questions and develop their own personal faith. Likewise, our goal is to develop lifelong relationships among our youth. Through service components we will focus on the call to serve our neighbors. Through retreats, we will focus on building relationships, and through evening classes we will provide tools for exploring and defining one’s faith. Our goal is not to arrive at a checkpoint on one’s spiritual journey, but to walk beside youth as they grow in faith.

What happens during confirmation

Each week at 5:30 we will join together for an opening with music and large group learning Then, at 6:00 we will break into small groups to discuss what we’ve learned and participate in activities. We will also occasionally end in the gym with games. Small groups will mainly be grade based, but will be interchangeable throughout the year. Overall we hope that this year will be engaging, interesting and thought provoking!
Sometimes we stick really closely to this format...other times we have hands on service project, or guest speaker, or experiential night or something else! It is our hope that youth will attend ALL classes and participate fully in our entire program!

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What are we going to learn?

September 13—Confirmation Orientation
September 20—Rock Haven Ropes Course
September 27— Noah October 4— Special Guest Speakers: Evolution, Creation, Faith and Science October 11— Jacob and Esau October 18—NO Classes (MEA) October 25– Confirmation Sunday for 10th grade
Trunk or Treat at 4 p.m. November 1— Joseph November 8— Joshua and Rahab November 15 OCC Packing Party November 22— Chili Cook off and Pie auction November 29 Thanksgiving Break December 6: Guest Speaker “Suicide Prevention” December 13: Experience night “Poetry in the Bible” December 20 Youth Christmas Party
We will recess for 2 weeks for Christmas January 8-10 Confirmation Retreat “Chill” January 17 $100 Challenge planning
January 24 No evening classes
January 31 $100 Challenge Execution February 6— Parable of the Lost Son (11:30 Today)
February 14—NO CONFIRMATION President’s Day February 21 Parable of the Good Samaritan February 28 No Classes (Come to the youth Dinner Theatre!) March 6—Parable of the sheep and goats
March 13 and 20 Spring Break...no classes March 27 Easter Sunday No Classes April 3 Pentecost April 10— Phillip and the Ethiopian
April 17—Conversion of Paul April 24—End of the year party at Bozeman Hot Springs
Confirmation Sunday for current 9th graders will be Sunday, October 30 2016!

Welcome to Confirmation 2015-2016

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Schedule Continued

Other Dates to keep in mind
Wednesday, October 7 Drama Ministry Starts 6:00 p.m.
October 25 Confirmation Sunday for 10th grade
October 25 deadline to sign up for Mission Trip 2016
October 25 Trunk or Treat Fall Festival 4:00 p.m.
November 23 Chili Cook-Off
January 8-10 Confirmation Winter Retreat
June 24-July 5 2016 (Dates subject to change slightly) Mission Trip 2016 Mescalero, NM

Confirmation Retreats and other opportunities

CONFIRMATION AND WORSHIP
While we don’t take attendance at worship, it is expected that youth who are a part of our confirmation experience are enhancing what they are learning by being a part of our worshipping community Twice a year, each confirmation student will be asked to participate in worship leadership through a varied selection of options. Likewise, it is our intention that you worship with your family on a regular basis. If students are not regularly attending worship, we reserve the right to ask for a certain number of Worship Response Sheets
Mission Trip 2016
We are very excited to be getting ready for our summer mission trip! This year we will be attending a mission trip to work with the Mescalero Apache people in Mescalero, New Mexico! The cost for the trip is $1100 and includes transportation, meals, lodging, materials and program. There are many opportunities to raise money to help offset the cost of this trip, including football concessions, chili cook off and more!! It is very realistic that youth could raise nearly 100 percent of their fees for this trip! Confirmation Students are HIGHLY ENCOURAGED to attend at least one trip during their confirmation experience. Mission trips are one of the BEST parts of our confirmation program and in the past four years EVERY youth who has attended a trip has cited it as being a critical part of their faith journey during their confirmation speeches. Please make this a priority for you and your family!
DRAMA MINISTRY
On Wednesday, October 14 at 5:30 we will meet to begin work on a dinner theatre. We will meet weekly from 5:30-7 p.m. to work on our next interactive and exciting program that will take place in Late February.
Chill Confirmation Retreat
Our Confirmation Retreat will take place over the weekend January 8-10 at Yellowstone Alliance Adventures Camp. It Is expected that your youth will participate in this retreat as a part of their confirmation journey!
This is always a highlight for our year as we enjoy outdoor winter activities such as snow tubing, broom ball and more! More information about this exciting opportunity will be available in November.