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.

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