Confirmation 2020

Reviewing the Rite

Confirmation is not a graduation, nor a hoop to jump through, nor an automatic next step because you’ve reached a certain age. It is a solemn pledge before God, and before you stand up on Sunday morning, you need to understand the pledge you are about to make, and be ready to make it.

See “Rite of Confirmation”

Preparing for Confirmation Sunday →

There are three elements that we want you to decide on and create for Confirmation Sunday. We are only going to focus on the first two for our purposes. They are: 1. The Verse 2. The Essay 3. The Stole

1. The Verse →

Each Youth will choose their own Confirmation Bible Verse. This is a verse that has special meaning for them or captures the essence of their faith in Jesus. You will let us know what verse you choose and what Bible translation you would like it to read as.

We invite moms and dads to think through this selection with their child. This can be a sacred moment.

What makes a good Confirmation verse? A verse that you can base your life on, that you can live out often contains the most meaning. Many people can tell stories of how in times of need or times of joy, their Confirmation verse would come to mind and bring a sense of peace from God. It should help center your faith in God’s grace and forgiveness, and not your effort to please God.

To get started, see the collection of suggestions below. This list is not exhaustive; you are free to choose any other verse that has meaning for you.

2. The Essay →

The essay is a short, written piece that each youth will read during the Confirmation Sunday worship service. A single page, double-spaced at 12-point font is about right. This is about 300-400 words.

The goal of the essay is to:

1. Share your name.
2. Share with the congregation what your Confirmation verse is. (What)
3. Share why you picked this verse, what it means to you. What is God telling us in your verse? (Think about how your verse helps you know and follow Jesus. How does this verse remind you of God’s grace and your identity as a child of God?) (So What.)
4. Finally, share why you think this verse will help live out your faith in Jesus. (“Because of this verse, I know God will do ______ and this means I can do or I will do _______.”) (Now What).

3. The Stole →

We will wait to talk about this part until we know more about when the Rite of Confirmation Service will be happening.

Timeline as Confirmation Day Approaches

By Wednesday, April 8th:

• Choose a Confirmation verse. Please indicate which translation of the Bible you want it read from (ESV, NIV, NLT, etc). Email your choice to beth@tlcms.org.

By Wednesday, April 15th:

• Email a draft copy of the Confirmation essay to beth@tlcms.org
• Work on this with your parents. The draft essays will be read by me and (perhaps) some suggestions will be given.
• Attach a nice, current, headshot photo of your student. This does not need to be in their Easter best, but they should be somewhat cleaned up.