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| 725 Pine St. Winnetka, Illinois 60093 847-441-3400 |
At WCC we strive to make it meaningful, thorough, and provocative.
Our curriculum follows 4 units spread out over 2 years. The units are: 1. Old Testament 2. New Testament 3. Theology, history and worship 4. Spiritual disciplines and World Religion Each unit is made up of 5-6 classes. Our retreats also offer a way to explore different topics in more depth (see below).
At the end of the 2-year process, 8th graders will be invited to choose membership or exercise their right to consider the decision longer as a non-member (friend of the church). Whether your Confirmand chooses membership or not, he or she will be encouraged to worship as a non-voting friend of the church and participate in WCC activities through high school and beyond.Classes
meet from 6:00 to 7:30pm on Sundays evenings.
Central to our eighth grade program is working with an adult member of the church. Seeds for this process of selecting a mentor are planted in seventh grade. Mentors are chosen in eighth grade. The pastoral staff will help each Confirmand with their choice, suggesting names for Confirmands who aren’t sure who to ask. Ideally, a mentor is someone who the Confirmand experiences as a committed, respected, and caring member of the congregation. A mentor can be someone with whom the Confirmand has already developed a close relationship, a friend of the family, or a person the Confirmand would like to get to know. Mentors are encouraged to meet at least once a month with their Confirmands. There are also opportunities to meet as an entire group of Confirmands and their mentors during the year. Mentors and Confirmands are asked to complete at least one service project together.Please note: CONFIRMATION DAY IS MAY 2011! Requirements for Confirmation:
Retreats give Confirmands time to enjoy being part of a group that’s going through the same feelings, confusions, frustrations, joys as part of the same process. As individuals within the group, the Confirmands will have a chance to ask the questions they’ve newly discovered, to test out ideas, and see where s/he is in relation to others. Retreats accomplish the following:
Eating, sleeping, and living in the same space provides an unparalleled opportunity to create a sense of community, of bonding. Confirmands get to know one another; teachers and students have more one-on-one time; stories and rituals are created that last throughout the program.
To worship, learn, laugh, sing, play and pray in places other than the church gives the Confirmand a new and different understanding of what a faith community looks like. These experiences are foundational to the process and must not be diminished by lack of participation. Because of the rich experiences of discovery, trust, community and faith building for the group and the individual, retreats are a requirement for all Confirmands.
Each class will visit other faith communities about two or three times each year as part of their learning process. We will choose among differing faith traditions as well as other Christian denominations. Experiencing diverse cultures and religious traditions gives our Confirmands perspective on their own faith traditions just as it helps build understanding and tolerance among peoples of various faiths. We typically make one such visit per quarter.
Mission activities for both classes include:
Junior High Youth Group Junior High Youth Group meets once a month for a fun fellowship activity. To most activities, we will encourage Confirmands to bring friends that are not in confirmation. This will also provide an opportunity for youth who choose not to participate in confirmation with a way to stay connected during the 7th and 8th grade years. Bonding over meals, parties, roller coasters, video games, bowling, ice skating and other activities build better relationships and a smoother transition to a high school youth group. We are going to ask that parents sign up for a month in which they will plan our fellowship gathering
Our Confirmation program is designed to be not only an interactive learning process for your young person, but also a way for families to experience together some of the joys of being a part of the Christian community. Our students have so much to teach us. With your help and co-commitment, the Rite of Confirmation at the Winnetka Congregational Church will succeed in developing self-conscious and actively engaged people of faith. We’re counting on you. So are they. We will have 4 Family
Nights throughout the program year. On these evenings, parents and siblings are
invited to join their Confirmand at church. We have a potluck dinner together
to begin. Then Confirmands go to their classrooms and parents are invited to
participate in a program led by one of our pastors. Siblings are invited to go
to the gym for games supervised by high school students.
Consider becoming a mentor for one of the Confirmands. One of your children’s friends may see you as the person of faith they wish to become. Think about it, and let Jennifer Gleichauf know if are willing or if you just want to talk about the possibility. Jennifer can be reached by telephone at 441-3400, ext. 15 or by e-mail jenny@wcc-joinus.org
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