Education Committee gathers to write new Confirmation Program to teach the faith to teens and young adults
As the Diocese puts renewed emphasis on discipling the next generation of Christians, the Education Committee has set to work writing a new Confirmation Training Program that meets the needs of Arctic churches and their communities.
The committee, chaired by the Ven. Alexander Pryor and made up of the Rev. Ann Martha Keenainak, the Rt. Rev. Joey Royal, and the Very Rev. Chris Dow are meeting at ATTS in Iqaluit from Sept. 26-October 5 to craft a ready-to-use leaders’ guide and easily-understood workbooks that will make confirmation training easy and accessible to every parish.
“Confirmation is a unique opportunity,” says Archdeacon Pryor. “it’s not just a ritual or something that happens when you turn a certain age. It is a mature profession of faith, a public, informed decision that I want to follow Jesus with God’s help, and I want to live as a full part of the church. Our goal is to help churches disciple both youth and young adults who come to faith so that they know what they’re signing up for, and are prepared with the tools to live a life of faith”.
Similar to the groundbreaking I Have Decided to Follow Jesus baptism and family discipleship course, there will be a series of group sessions each followed up with a real-life take-home activity to experience what it means to live as a Christian who reads the scriptures, prays for their family and community, and serves their community.
“One of the best pieces of feedback we received on the Baptism course is that people got a lot out of the ‘homework’ each week. It’s one thing to talk about gratitude and trusting in God, but it’s another to actually expect people to take time each day and tell their spouse or children what they’re thankful for around the dinner table. We hope to do something similar with the Confirmation course, but particularly aimed toward the needs of young people”, said the Archdeacon.
Another real strength of the Baptism Course is that it isn’t just the minister talking to those being baptized. The expectation across the Diocese of The Arctic is that baptism preparation involves a group of people – parents, sponsors or godparents, clergy, but also lay people and other mature Christians – as the training allows time for people to tell their own stories of the importance of their faith in their own words.
“We want to involve that same sort of approach in this next course. Confirmation preparation is all about discipleship, it’s mentoring of the next generation. So shouldn’t confirmation preparation be more like an apprenticeship, where you come under the wing of an experienced life-long Christian and learn what it means to follow Jesus?”, Pryor said.
This is part of a multi-year strategy and significant investment in education across the Diocese. The course will also be translated. We are thankful for the dedication of the Education Committee and look forward to this next publication!
