Initiating our young disciples
with the fire of the Holy Spirit
“It must never be forgotten that our reception of Baptism and Confirmation is ordered to the Eucharist…In this regard, attention needs to be paid to the order of the sacraments of initiation. Different traditions exist within the Church…Yet these variations are not properly of the dogmatic order, but are pastoral in character. Concretely, it needs to be seen which practice better enables the faithful to put the sacrament of the Eucharist at the centre, as the goal of the whole process of initiation.”
– Pope Benedict XVI, Sacramentum Caritatis, #17-18
Our Confirmation Research pilot is open to all St. John children who will be 9 years old by May 1, 2024
Last fall, St. John was granted permission from Archbishop Lori to begin a research pilot for a new Confirmation process for 9-year-olds and their families. This process will not affect our 13-year-old+ Confirmation process. It is also not required for all 9-year-olds at St. John to experience this pilot.
Since November 2023, our design team has convened to address the challenge of conceptualizing a Confirmation program tailored specifically for 9-year-olds. Instead of replicating existing sacramental formation approaches, the team endeavored to devise an innovative process that addresses prevalent issues encountered during sacramental preparation. Employing a design thinking methodology, they have developed two prototype formation experiences. After receiving feedback from a variety of sources, we developed our new program: The Fire Fellowship.
Learn more at our parent meeting on Sunday, March 3rd at 3pm in the Portico!
Listen to Fr. Mark Bialek (pastor) and Stacy Golden (Director of OFFYAM, Archdiocese of Baltimore) explore the reasoning behind the 9 year old Confirmation pilot
On November 14th, 2023, St. John hosted the internationally sought after liturgist: Fr. Paul Turner. He gave a talk and answered questions on the history of the Sacrament of Confirmation. His talk was based on his book: Confirmation: A Baby in King Solomon’s Court. This talk served as a kick off event for our Confirmation Research Pilot
Questions? Contact us!
faithformation@sjwest.org
410-848-8443