BUMC family,

             Since the beginning of October we have had 21 of our youth learning and

growing in their faiths through Confirmation classes.  Over the course of our classes, the youth have learned about our Christian traditions and foundations.  They have learned about Methodism and what it means to be a member of the church. We have had lock-ins to learn more about each other and visited the Beth HaTephila Jewish Synagogue to learn more about Jewish traditions and beliefs.  Most importantly, the youth have met with their Confirmation mentors to learn about other people in their church families and to ask questions about how other people’s faith journeys have been shaped and molded throughout their lives.

Two weeks ago, the Confirmation class went to Lake Junaluska for our retreat.  We joined Confirmation classes from other churches to continue to learn about what God calls us to be and to do as Christians.  It was an amazing weekend!!  What we learned is…

· Prayer:  enables us to have a stronger relationship with God and with other people.

· Presence:  we are called to participate in the life of our churches because when two or more are gathered God is present with us!

· Gifts:  God has given to us so many gifts that we should recognize and use to show God’s love to the world.

· Service:  God calls us all to be in service to the world…to care for those in need and to be God’s hands and feet in the world today.

Our retreat brought together all the topics we had been learning about throughout Confirmation and helped each Confirmand to see the full picture of what it means to be a Christian and a member of the community of faith. 

This Sunday, April 27th, our Confirmands will be confirmed at the 10:55 am worship service!  I am so proud of each of our Confirmation students and their dedication this year to learning about their faith journeys and about who God is calling them to be as Christians.  A special thank you goes out to all our Confirmation mentors and their dedication to meeting with our students and sharing their faith stories with our youth!  

Amanda Thomas, Associate Minister for Christian Education

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