Starting Sunday, September 11
Fixers – 5th & 6th graders
Our Fixers will start their journey in the youth program with a year of CONNECTION.
Connecting with community through fun and fellowship.
Connecting with others through service.
Connecting with our faith tradition through scripture.
Connecting with themselves as they move away from childhood towards adolescence.
The Fixers will meet on Sunday mornings at 9:15am.
Sunday, June 12 at 12:00 pm (after church), Fixers and their parents are invited to join Rev. Stephanie for a meeting to talk about the fall and get oriented into the youth program.
Rite Stuff – 7th & 8th Graders
These young people, our Luminaries, have got the right stuff to be ready for moving further into adolescence. EVERYTHING is changing for them – bodies, minds, souls, and faith. Drawing from the Episcopal Church’s curriculum “These Are Our Bodies” and the Lutheran curriculum, “Echo the Story,” these young people will begin the journey of placing themselves within the saving history of God as they grow and discover who they are as children of God. The Rite Stuff will meet on Sunday mornings at 9:15am.
We will have 3 or 4 “Rites of Passage” ceremonies for this group. That includes a special dinner where we celebrate them as “Luminaries” – lights in the world – and we honor their parents as well. Parents share memories and stories of the Luminary that night, and then the next morning during church, the Luminaries re-affirm their baptismal covenant and move liturgically from childhood towards adulthood.
Finally, we will end the year with a special beach weekend retreat!
Sunday June 12 at 1 pm, Luminaries and parents, please join Rev. Stephanie for a meeting to talk about the Fall and to set the dates for the Rites of Passage ceremonies. We will also have a re-orientation to the youth program.
Rite 2 – 9th, 10th, & 11th Graders
We’ve got a great year planned for the Rite 2 group. First, we have the remaining Rites of Passage ceremony so that all our Rite 2-ers have been fully celebrated. Then we will spend the year focusing on:
- How do EPISCOPALIANS read the bible? Why would an Episcopal bible study be different then Young Life? What does the bible actually say about the issues that are out in the world right now? Why is the Episcopal way of reading scripture even important?
- Why do Episcopalians talk so much about justice? What does the bible say about it? What do we do to make things right in our world?
These two areas of focus will prepare us for an Urban Mission at the end of the school year in 2023, and getting ready for a pilgrimage at the end of the school year in 2024.
Since this group is in high school, they will be responsible for helping Rev. Stephanie with some key decisions about their year, including, when do they want to meet, what fun and fellowship events would they like to do, and what would they like their urban mission to look like? Sunday, June 12 at 3 pm, parents and Rite 2-ers are invited to join Stephanie to answer these questions, talk more about the year, and re-orient into the youth program.
Seniors – 12th grade
Our theme for our seniors is REST and GO! Rather than meeting weekly, we will schedule monthly dinners, weekend retreats, a Fall program on spiritual wellness, and even a weekend at Busch Gardens (with Jeremy!). We will have our congregation blessing and celebration of our seniors at the end of the school year. Rev. Stephanie and Jeremy will arrange a time to meet with the seniors to set dates for these events, and get their feedback.
Confirmation
The Rite of Confirmation is open to any young person 12 and older. Bishop Anne Hodges-Copple will be with us on Sunday, December 4 for confirmation. Class will be held on Sunday afternoon or evenings for six weeks mid-October though November. Dates and specifics coming soon.
If you aren’t able to attend the meetings on June 12, Rev. Stephanie will host a zoom meeting for parents on Wednesday, June 22 at 7 pm.