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Confirmation

Confirmation Retreat Photos

West Side United Methodist Church offers Confirmation classes for those who are in eighth grade and above each fall. Confirmation class runs from early October through mid-June at which time the student will have the opportunity to publicly proclaim their faith during a worship service.

What is confirmation class?
	In Baptism, we recognize God’s claim on our lives. In Confirmation, students have an opportunity to claim the relationship God freely offers them. Confirmation is a class for youth who are interested in publicly affirming the call on their lives to be disciples of Jesus Christ. The class helps the students gain important insight to the aspects of one's faith: Baptism, Holy Communion, Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, the history of the Christian church, and the history of the United Methodist Church. The class is designed to prepare the students to answer the all-important question:
	"Do you confess Jesus Christ as your Savior, put your whole trust in His grace, and promise to serve Him as your Lord, in union with the church which Christ has opened to people of all ages, nations, and races?"
	The book By Water and the Spirit, A United Methodist Understanding of Baptism describes it this way, “When persons who were baptized as infants are ready to profess their Christian faith, they participate in the service, which United Methodism now calls Confirmation. This occasion is not an entrance into Church membership, for this was accomplished through baptism. It is the first public affirmation of the grace of God in one's baptism and the acknowledgment of one's acceptance of that grace by faith.” It further states, “An infant who is baptized cannot make a personal profession of faith as a part of the sacrament. Therefore, as the young person is nurtured and matures so as to be able to respond to God's grace, conscious faith and intentional commitment are necessary. Such a person must come to claim the faith of the Church proclaimed in baptism as her or his own faith.”
Why go through Confirmation now?
	Youth may be asking questions about their faith and Confirmation helps build a firm foundation for the important decisions that lie ahead.  The Confirmation team and pastors are available to help and share from their own journeys of faith. In addition, each youth will have their very own adult mentor who will encourage them throughout the year. Along the Confirmation journey, youth will discover gifts from our United Methodist heritage that will help guide them on their journey of faith.

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Statements of Faith from Past Confirmation Classes
2007 Statement of Faith
	"We believe that... Christianity holds more power than just us as people alone. We also believe that the Christian way is the right way to live our lives. We are happy that we have completed (almost) our confirmation class, and have found that our religion is something more than just talk. The Divine Trinity holds the power in this religion. Making us choose which holy deity is the best is like making us choose between our brain, lungs, and heart. Like those organs, we cannot live without any of them, so we accept all of them into our lives. We think that God is the greatest great there can be of all. He can defy the impossible and he sent his son down to save us all. Without Jesus we would not be living the way we are today. This has been a life-changing experience and we are so happy that we have made friends with each other and God."
2006 Statement of Faith
	"We believe that... Science and intellectual knowledge are compatible with faith. The Bible is important because there are lessons that involve truth in their morals. Jesus Christ is a guide to how we should live our lives. Jesus lived his life with love and compassion for everyone, and we believe that this is how God wants us to live our lives. God is caring, mysterious, forgiving, creative, majestic, widely-acknowledged, a teacher, and almighty. We believe that God created everything including giant squid... and pudding."
2005 Statement of Faith
	We believe…God is with us. He is with us even if we are ignorant to or ignoring his divine presence. Love has no guidelines. It is a precious word that should be used as often as possible. We love you. We believe that all of the members of the Holy Trinity are equal and upholding of one another. Father, the creator of all the world. Son, preserving our covenant with the Lord. He taught us new ways to live and love. Holy Spirit, with us even now to guide us along life's undulating path. As we grow and change, our beliefs will also. No one can know all that is true in the Lord's eyes, but maybe as we continue our faith journey we will come to understand some of what is taught to us by God. We are honored to join this church community, as we believe that it will be a step in the right direction towards our growing faiths. God is awesome, yes sir. Amen.Rock on!