Confirmation Retreat- Sept 9th-10th

Confirmation Mass- October 11th: 5:45 PM - 8:00 PM

What is Confirmation?
Confirmation is the sacrament by which Catholics receive a special outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Through Confirmation, the Holy Spirit gives them the increased ability to practice their Catholic faith in every aspect of their lives and to witness Christ in every situation. This sacrament quiet literally "confirms" the gifts and graces that we've received through baptism. 

When does Confirmation prep begin?
Historically, St. Marys has done a two year program for Confirmation beggining in 8th grade. After prayerful consideration and planning, we have decided to transition the 2 year program to 1 year. Most of our Conformandi (individuals who are in the process of preperang for the sacrament) will be begin their preparation in 9th grade. If you have a son or dauthter that is interested in Confirmation but is older than 9th grade, that's ok! We would still love to work with them. 

What does prep look like?
Preparation for this sacrament will seek to mimic the ministry of Jesus Christ himself. When we look at the life of Jesus, we see that He saught to cultivate personal relationships with everyone he encountered. This is why Conformandi will be divided into small groups that will meet twice a month for 90 minutes. During those meetings, we will start with High School Youth Group, then will move in to their Confirmation small Groups. There the groups will talk about relevant topics to the sacrament, catch up on personal lives, and have a space to ask questions and dialogue. Hopefully this style of preperation will take away the "classroomy" feel that makes it easy to feel disengaged and will feel more enganged with the larger community by starting out with High School Youth Group.

With this we will also be doing "Service Hours". What this entails is 2 different categories of service hours; parish and out of parish service hours.

More information about Confirmation will be given when you meet with our Youth Minister, Chris Smith for a Get To Know You and Confirmation meet up! These meet ups are required. Please be on the look out for an email to sign up!

How do I register?
To register for Confirmation, contact Chris Smith in the Youth Ministry office at chriss@stmarysdsm.org or phone 515-251-7568

Can I register after the official start date?
Small groups will begin meeting in October. If you are looking to register after October, you will need to meet with Chris Smith, and work together to assess what the best course of action will be. If you are seeking to be Confirmed, we want to work with you!

Email: chriss@stmarysdsm.org
Office Phone: 515-251-7568