Promotion Sunday
August 31
Students are still part of PLANET56 during Confirmation. Each Sunday P56 is open from 9 - 9:30 am and 10:30 - 11 am for fun, fellowship, and pre-activities. Students play games or just chill and enjoy visiting with friends as they arrive. Classes begin at 9:30 and 11 am; all games end a few minutes before class start times. The first 15 - 20 minutes of each class hour is spent in PLANET56 for announcements, prayers, praise, and worship. By 9:48/11:18 the 6th grade Confirmation students leave with Color Leaders and go to their Confirmation Classroom. This final 40 minutes of class is spent with 20 minutes of large group teaching and 20 minutes of small group life application discussion, turning in accountability forms, taking prayer requests, and closing in prayer. Students will need to bring their confirmation bags, which contain their Student Study Bible, journal, pen, and keepsake books as they receive them.
Students, meet at your scheduled time of either 9:30 or 11 am in PLANET56 while parents meet in the Wesley Hall to meet color leaders and receive Confirmation Mentoring Books. Once students move into their classrooms, orientation begins with “Begin The Journey,” where you receive t-shirts, backpacks, Bibles, journals, and pens.
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Confirmation Retreat
October 3 - 5
This Retreat will be held at Carolina Creek Christian Camp in Huntsville. We will leave Friday evening at 5 pm and return around 12 pm Sunday afternoon. Online registration will be available about a month out from the event and will be online at www.gracekids.com. The weekend will be a time for the student, his/her color group and at least one of his/her parents (both parents are certainly welcome to come) to bond through a weekend of camp activities and exploring who God is in their lives. It is a kick off to our year of confirmation and provides a great atmosphere to relax and enjoy each other. The cost is $140 per person.
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Mission Sunday - Called Into The World
October 12
OCTOBER IS CHURCH WIDE MISSION MONTH! Students volunteer to represent a country where we have missionaries and carry flags during services and children’s classes. This also is a mission service project, limited to first sign up participation.
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Service Projects
CHRISTMAS IN BETHLEHEM - This year will be the second year for our children’s ministry to put on this popular family event held in December. We will put together a large area resembling that of Bethlehem. This large event requires many props and backdrops to make it feel authentic, and we need plenty of help before the weekend to help set up the small city and people to dress up and help with booths at the event.
EASTER EGG STUFFING - Each year our Confirmation students play a key role in our Easter weekend Giant Easter Egg Hunt by stuffing the eggs. Details to follow Spring 2008.
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True North Retreat
April 19
This retreat is a four-hour experience on Sunday that is geared towards finding out how to make God the true "north" of our lives. It begins at 4 pm and concludes at 8 pm. We will serve you guys dinner, so don't worry about bringing a sack lunch. We will have games, activities, and four lessons on following Christ. This retreat is for students and color leaders. As usual, parents are welcome to come if they would like. The cost for this event will be $5 and will be held in the Wesley Hall. Registration will be online.
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Confirmation Rehearsal and Baptism
May 16
MANDATORY REHEARSAL (for students and at least one parent) - We will try to keep this to 1 hour or less. You will be shown how students parade into the sanctuary as the congregation stands and sings and where each color group sits. Parents will have assigned seating areas by color group and will be shown where to sit. We will walk through the service and how students being baptized will come to the altar and how parents will join them. Then we will walk through how each color group comes to the railing and their parents join them standing behind their student. Each student is allowed a maximum of 2 adults to stand behind them and lay hands on them as they are being confirmed and prayed for.
This hour-long rehearsal is mandatory for both the student and at least one parent so that everyone knows how they enter, where they sit, when to come forward, etc. We are working very hard to make this an incredible Confirmation Sunday with many special features and with this many students it is important that all know their role, when and where. I know some of you may have to rearrange your schedules for this one hour and I hope we are giving you enough notice and that you understand why it needs to be done. THIS IS IMPORTANT or we would not ask you to do this. Thank you for helping us.
IMMERSION BAPTISM SERVICE (for students choosing this form) - If the Confirmand has never been baptized, he or she may choose either to be immersed during this service or to wait and receive the traditional baptism on Sunday during either the Harvest or 11 am Traditional service. Students will make their decisions known after the January 25 pastoral teaching on the subject. Details of this service will be given to you after we know how many students are participating.
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Confirmation Sunday
May 17
All 9:30 class students:
- Family Reception and Photo Session hosted by 5th grade parents from 9 - 10:30.
- Students gather in their color groups and line up to enter sanctuary at 10:30.
- Students attend worship service, sit together, and are recognized during the 11 am service.
- Color leaders sit with students.
- Family members will not sit with their students but may sit anywhere desired unless the student is receiving baptism.
All 11:00 class students:
- Students gather in their color groups and line up to enter sanctuary at 9:15 am.
- Students attend worship service, sit together, and are recognized during the 9:30 am service.
- Family members will not sit with their students but may sit anywhere desired
- Color leaders will sit with students.
- Family members will not sit with their students but may sit anywhere desired unless the student is receiving baptism.
- Family Reception and Photo Session hosted by 5th grade parents from 10:30 - 12.
Both classes (9:30 & 11:00) are combined for the joint Confirmation Service in the sanctuary at 12:15. As soon as the 11:00 traditional worship services ends at noon and the sanctuary is cleared out, parents will go into the sanctuary and sit in your assigned color group seating. Additional family members will have room further back to sit together or in the balcony. Parents have to have a special area so that as your student’s color group comes forward to be confirmed you go together as a group and stand behind your students. Students will meet color leaders at assigned area in Wesley Hall and line up to march into sanctuary. This line up process will be practiced in rehearsal because it must happen really fast. The service should be about an hour in length to be completed about 1:15 and then they all come to the front to stand together for an entire “Class of 06” photograph with leaders and ministry staff. After the group photo you are free to leave, which should be close to 1:30 pm. It might not take as long this year. We changed to have all baptisms during the 9:15 or 11:00 sanctuary services instead of the 12:15 service so it will shorten the service by quite a bit.
Due to the lateness of the service, the reception will have a very nice brunch buffet. So hopefully you will have gained sustenance during the reception to hold you for a late lunch! We plan on an average of 7 people per confirmand so that we prepare for 1,050 going through the buffet.
A professional photographer is hired to come in and take photos during your assigned color group time in the reception. We are asking them to set up two photo areas this year to help with the congestion. You will be given the photo order form a couple of weeks before so you will have time to make your selections.
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