Dear friends,
Over the next four months, you will periodically see a few youth from Plymouth (along with Rev. Will Tanner) rushing into our church after worship, or a few youth from Edwards (along with me) rushing out. That’s because we are beginning a shared Confirmation Class. Two young men from Plymouth will join with four young men from Edwards to explore two questions: “Who is Jesus?” and “What does it mean to be a Christian?”
Our four participants―Noah Cichowlas, Sam Marcincavage, Kelvin Phelps and Conor Taylor―will each be matched with an adult mentor from the congregation, someone whose faith they admire and respect. The mentors will join us on some of our activities.
The six young people will meet with Will and me five times for after-church conversations. We will participate in a mission project, in an Ash Wednesday service at Plymouth Church and a Maundy Thursday service at Edwards Church. We will attend a Shabbat service at an area synagogue. Each of the confirmands, with support from their mentors, will prepare a statement or expression of faith and create a stole. They will be confirmed in early June.
As we have been talking with these youth and their parents, Will and I realized that several of them enjoy video games, graphic novels and movies like Star Wars, Harry Potter and superhero series. We will begin our confirmation process by inviting them to bring in “artifacts” of their favorite fictional (or real-life) heroes or superheroes. We will talk about what they admire in those characters. The list of qualities we develop will provide a framework for our conversations about Jesus. What qualities does he share with the characters we imagine and admire? How are his “powers” different from the powers of the superheroes? How does he challenge us to redefine the meaning of “super” and “power” and “hero?”
I confess to knowing very little about modern-day superheroes, but I am intrigued to learn more from our young people. I suspect that, as I learn from our Confirmation class, some of their wisdom will make its way into my sermons. I hope you will enjoy learning from them as well.
Peace, Debbie