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To Know Christ Better
To Make Christ Better Known
To Be the Best Version of YourselfSeptember 1, 2018
Greetings Teens, and Parents of Teens!
As Catholics we begin our life in the Church with Baptism, are nourished in our faith with the Eucharist, and complete our initiation with the Sacrament of Confirmation. Just as with Baptism and Eucharist, there is a preparation period before we receive the Sacrament of Confirmation. For teens interested in preparing for Confirmation, at St. Perpetua we offer a one-year intensive preparation period.The parish invites all high school students, who are at least a sophomore in September 2018, to join with their peers for a year of prayer, reflection, community building, community service, liturgical celebrations, and spiritual growth leading to Confirmation in May 2019. Confirmation remains an integral part of Youth Ministry in the life of our parish and thus Candidates can expect their year to be a full and engaging experience here at St. Perpetua.
To start, Candidates for Confirmation need only to be open to grow in relationship with God here in the St. Perpetua faith community. Some teens are not sure whether they want to be confirmed or not. If this is you, come give us a try and see what opportunities are part of your faith once you learn to integrate faith into your everyday life. If a teen is not a member of our parish that wants to join our Confirmation preparation you are more than welcome - the family must simply register with the parish, support the parish, and join weekly at our liturgical celebrations.
St. Perpetua prepares teens for Confirmation in accordance with our parish and Catholic traditions, guidelines established by the Diocese of Oakland in 2010 (reaffirmed in 2015), and Canon Law. To meet Canon Law, Diocesan, and Parish requirements, during the year, Candidates participate in the following five areas of preparation for the Sacrament of Confirmation:
1. Gathering Together to Experience Our Faith
+ Bi-weekly Sunday evening Confirmation Gatherings (September - May)
+ Three Sponsor-Candidate activities
2. Liturgical Celebrations
+ Teen/Family Masses at select 11:30am Sunday masses
+ Ash Wednesday, Parish Reconciliation, Holy Thursday
3. Service (not civic group associated) through the Confirmation program:
+ Parish
+ Liturgical Celebrations
+ Local Community Food Bank
+ Social Justice at the St. Anthony Dining Room in San Francisco
4. Seven Youth Group Gatherings during the year
5. An overnight retreat.
Confirmation Gathering Calendar
With the ongoing construction of our new Parish Hall, we are limited in our use of the current hall and church facilities. The church’s availability for use will only be on the weekends for all of Faith Formation, therefore we have shifted a few things around to accommodate all children and teens in Faith Formation this year.
If you would like to join this year's Confirmation group, plan on attending one of four "Candidate Information" Evenings:+ Wednesday, September 5;
+ Thursday, September 6;
+ Sunday, September 9; or,
+ Monday, September 10The information evenings start at 7:30 in the RRC. At these meetings we cover the Calendar and the requirements to be confirmed. Come take a look and have your questions answered. The Candidate for Confirmation and at least one parent need to attend one of the information meetings.
INFORMATION NIGHTS (7:30 - 8:30, in the RRC)
The Calendar for Confirmation this year is below. For gatherings with an asterisk (*) Candidates select either a 4:30 or 6:30 start. All other gatherings have a specific start time that is discussed prior to the gathering.- 1 - September 5/6/9/10 - Information Evening 1 (of 4) - Navigation
September Confirmation Gatherings- 2 - Sunday, September 16, Coming Together as a Community
- 3 - Sunday, September 30, Life Is Choices (*)
October Confirmation Gatherings- 4 - Sunday, October 14, What's Holding You Back? *
- 5 - Sunday, October 21, The Jesus Question *
November Confirmation Gatherings- 6 - Sunday, November 4, The Prayer Process *
- 7 - Sunday, November 18, The Bible *
December Confirmation Gatherings- Sunday, December 2, Special Advent Prayer Service with all of Faith Formation
- 8 - Sunday, December 9, Celebrating Whats Right With the World Gathering with Sponsors
January Confirmation Gatherings- 9 - Sunday, January 6, Safe Environment *
- 10 - Sunday, January 27, Relationships *
February Confirmation Gatherings- 11 - Sunday, February 3, My Personal Faith with Sponsor (Packet received at the 11:30 mass)
- 12 - Sunday, February 24, The Eucharist (*)
March Confirmation Gatherings- 13 - Saturday, March 2, Confirmation Retreat (Gifts of Holy Spirit) - offsite
- 14 - Sunday, March 3, Confirmation Retreat (Fruits of Holy Spirit) - offsite
- 15 - Wednesday, March 6, Ash Wednesday Liturgical Service, 3:30 or 7pm
- 16 - Sunday, March 17, The Church
- 17 - Sunday, March 31, Made For Mission
April Confirmation Gatherings- 18 - Sunday, April 14, Faith Family Night, 6pm Church with all of Faith Formation
- 19 - Thursday, April 18, Holy Thursday Liturgical Celebration
- 20 - Sunday, April 28, Holiness is Possible
- 21 - Reconciliation (Have gone to confession in the six weeks prior to Confirmation)
- 22 - Confirmation Discernment Interviews (Start in May)
May Confirmation Gatherings- 23 - Friday, May 10, Confirmation Rehearsal Dinner (Candidates and Sponsors),
- 24 - Saturday, May 11, Confirmation, 10:30am, St. Perpetua
Consult the parish bulletin and Teens@StPerpetua regularly for date changes that may become necessary as the year progresses.Teens Gathering Together To
Be Bold – Be Catholic – Be the Best Version of Yourself