Confirmation Pilgrimage

A pilgrimage is a journey taken with a religious or devotional intention. To translate literally, a pilgrimage is to seek the divine together. Pilgrimages have been practiced by all the world religions for generations. Luke 2:41 records that Jesus' parents went on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the Passover.

Confirmation is for individuals who were baptized as infants or otherwise before the age of consent meaning the baptismal vows were made on their behalf by parents and godparents. In confirmation the individual confirms that which was done and said on his or her behalf. “Confirmation is the sacramental rite in which the candidates express a mature commitment to Christ, and receive strength from the Holy Spirit through prayer and the laying on of hands by a bishop" (BCP, p. 860). The Prayer Book rite for Confirmation includes forms for Reception and the Reaffirmation of Baptismal Vows. Preparation for Confirmation/ Reception/ Reaffirmation will help the candidates discover the meaning of Christian commitment in their lives, and explore ways that their Christian commitment can be lived out.

Here at Good Shepherd, we have designed our EYC confirmation class to start in 10th grade. We understand that for any number of reasons there will be rising 11th and 12th grade students who have not taken confirmation classes yet, therefore we welcome those students in each year’s class. We have 10 total classes with five in the Fall and 5 five in the Spring. It is not required to attend every class; however, it is highly encouraged. The syllabus for the confirmation class, along with the schedule of each class is attached. We ask that each Confirmand complete their Confirmation Information Form and identify who their Confirmation Mentor will be and make note of his/her name on the form.  

Click Here for the Confirmation Form

- Having relationships with people who are outside of the family tree, who identify as Christian (more specifically Episcopalian), and who a student can go to and talk about faith can be life changing. These students even though they may be young live their life on such demanding schedules. Their work life balance is extremely challenging between pressure from school, extra-curricular activities, family, friends, not to mention trying to discover who God is and what God’s role is in their life. Your role is to be alongside them and be exactly what they’ve asked, a Mentor who they can come and talk to.

- We encourage mentors to attend as many confirmation classes as possible

- We also encourage mentors to meet with their student at least once a month to “check-in” with their Confirmand in regards to what they are learning in the class

- The purpose of a mentor is to help a student navigate through all the stresses and demands of life and discover where God is in all of it. This can best be achieved by helping them dig deeper and answer some tough questions about their own personal beliefs and not just the ones they’ve been taught. Do they see God in their everyday life? Where do they see God in their everyday life?

- The role of a Mentor may seem to be cut and dry. When you think about Confirmation you might think about the Content and Curriculum, but this goes much deeper. Our students will learn a lot more from the role models in their lives and how they share love, compassion, forgiveness, help and how they model their own spiritual practices, than what we teach them in our 45-minute class on Sunday Mornings. The modeling that we all do as Confirmed members of the church shows our students that we are not just independent Christians, but we are part of a larger community of faith and we need one another. We will walk along with these students as they decide if they are prepared to take on the Baptismal Vows made on their behalf by their parents.

Each class will be on Sundays in the Youth Suite starting at 9am until 9:45am

In the baptismal service on our Book of Common Prayer (BCP p. 302-303) the baptismal promises invite the candidate to turn away from three things and turn toward three things. We promise to turn away from wickedness, evil, and sin.  We promise to turn toward Jesus as savior, trust in his Grace and love, and form a new identity grounded in obedience to His love ethic. This confirmation class is based on those renunciations and new directions. We will take those traditional teachings and translate them to our actual lives.

CLICK HERE for the 2024-25 Confirmation Class Schedule