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Energized Class Among Many Honored Confirmands
BLUE ISLAND, IL (June 12, 2004) - Mission Covenant Church pastor Gary Ridout
enjoyed a pleasant surprise as he continues the process of concluding
his ministry. He had the privilege of confirming 14 students during a
recent Sunday morning service, the largest confirmation class at the
church since 1947.
Ridout employed a variety of curriculum materials and was blessed with a
handful of volunteer helpers in putting the confirmation program
together. Confirmands were honored during a May 23 service and then led
a May 30 worship service as three teens shared their testimonies and
spiritual insights using the Acts 2 Pentecost Sunday text.
Confirmands included Amber Holste, Janina, Richard and Charmaine Wesley,
Jamie Moffit, Christopher Hannah, Bernie Kay, Kathrin Mathis, Jon
Togtman, Evan Brady, Melanie Tobuck, Lindsay Shandro, Stephani Zylman
and Daniel Isaac. DeWitt Casey, a first-year student, also participated.
Another student, Natasha Isaac, was confirmed in mid-year and helped
teach the others at times as a "graduate assistant."
There was an age difference of six years in the mix of students who
represented 10 schools. Five were African American, three had at least
one parent who was Hispanic and two had Jewish backgrounds.
Ridout had considered retiring this month, but decided to stay another
school year due, in large part, to the energy he felt from this class.
"This has been an outstanding combination of kids," said Ridout, who
began ministry in 1980 at age 47. "They had an eagerness to learn - I
had a terrible time keeping the class within a normal time frame because
so many kids wanted to ask questions after class. It also had a racial
mix that allowed us to talk about issues like prejudice, persecution and
the issue of being Covenant and 'agreeing to disagree.' This was a
little younger of a class age (three students were fifth graders and
many others were in sixth grade), but I found that the younger kids were
more 'real' than some of those who were in high school. We told the kids
that it was all right to be wrong and we got a lot of wrong answers, but
we moved into the right answers and it was okay.
"It's one of the reasons I stayed on an extra year as pastor," Ridout
continued. "This was a dynamic group and I wanted the opportunity to
have some input in their lives. John Sullivan and Pat Mathis, my
assistants, have told me that they'd miss our Wednesday night sessions
and I'll miss it too. It wore me out emotionally and physically, but
I've never been around such a hungry and eager group of kids."
Mission Covenant was among numerous Evangelical Covenant Church
congregations honoring confirmands during worship services or other
ceremonies this spring. A story published last month included a partial
listing of names of students who were confirmed, gleaned from the more
than 250 local church newsletters received each month by the Department
of Communication. Information in this second published list is organized
by conference and region.
CENTRAL
- Belvidere, Illinois: Kayla Hartman of the Evangelical Covenant
Church of Belvidere was recognized for finishing two years of education
at a May 16 Confirmation Sunday service. She also presented a paper
entitled "What Impresses Me About God" at an evening event.
- DeKalb, Illinois: Hillcrest Covenant Church confirmed Betsey Adams,
Blaize Diaz, Josh Howells, Jared Kuryliw, Helen Muleya, Melissa Vines,
Stefanie Wessel and Ben Woolsey at a recent worship service. The church
also recognized mentors for the students, including Amy Wessel, Joel
Howells, Mark Cordes, Manny Diaz, Sherri Howells, Wendy Kuryliw, Becky
Sisler and Dick Snyder.
- Elgin, Illinois: The Evangelical Covenant Church of Elgin confirmed
Lauren Timmons and Chrissy Sell on May 23.
- Galesburg, Illinois: The Covenant Church of Galesburg recognized
confirmands Alex Gieryna, Hayley Hawkinson and Kellon Smith during its
June 6 worship service.
- Moline, Illinois: First Covenant Church confirmed David Ballard,
Amanda Caldwell, Jami Fitzgerald, David Johnson, Joe Peterson, Matthew
Seidel and Emily Stanley on May 23.
- South Bend, Indiana: Evangelical Covenant Church of South Bend
confirmed Duncan Kinuthia, Mark Olsen and Gordon Sill on May 23. Sill
has been busy in other ways as he submitted an original jazz composition
to the Carpe Jazzum competition sponsored by a local radio station and
had his work put on a special CD (one of 12 selected). Sill and Krista
Bladel were also part of a recent service project weekend, Spring
Breakout, sponsored by North Park University and the Central Conference
and held in Chicago.
- Iron Mountain, Michigan: First Covenant Church confirmed Autumn
Dugree, Brian Tresedder, Aleah Ahrendts, Chris Maki, Heather Hautamaki,
Ben Lamy, Emily Conard and Becky Kahl during its May 16 worship service.
EAST COAST
- Riverside, Rhode Island: The Evangelical Covenant Church of
Riverside confirmed Joshua Burgoyne, Chris Goodale, Heather Reuker, Liz
Townsend and Mike Tremblay during a recent confirmation service. Pastor
Stuart McCoy asked students to write about how confirmation was
significant in their lives and the answers were poignant and insightful.
One student wrote about the experience, "Sometimes when I answer to a
non-Christian friend that I can't make plans Thursdays because I have
confirmation, I get a snicker or a (comment) 'Man that must stink.' But
what that person doesn't know is what the class I take is like. Frankly,
I've always looked forward to confirmation class because I get to study
the Bible and also be with friends. Surprisingly, I found myself
learning about more things about the Bible than I expected. There are so
many different teachings and stories that I didn't know about and my
lack of knowledge about this drove me to wanting to read the Bible more
often."
NORTH PACIFIC
- Bellevue, Washington: Highland Covenant Church pastor Jim DeGrado
recognized his confirmation class in a recent church newsletter article
he wrote, calling the process "a privilege and a great joy." The
students - Erin Bynum, David Hjelm, Matthew Lider and David Shelton -
were to share their faith on June 13 during a worship service. The
church also helped the students by pairing them with adult confirmation
partners, devoted to helping students understand the importance of
living out the Christian faith in community.
- Kent, Washington: Kent Covenant Church took a unique approach to its
confirmation educational program as 19 students took part in Project
Deep Roots, a two-year program taken from Ephesians 3:17. A total of
nine students - all ninth graders - were recognized for their work
during a May 23 event. They include Brian Botts, Anthony Cantu, Rob
Carson, Andrew Collier, Bethany Douglass, Briana Dyrness, Beth Johnson,
Kaitlin Schuttler, Lindsey Smith and Jake Willey. A host of eighth
graders will be recognized on June 20, including Eric Hansen, Brian
Jensen, Tammy Liddle, Gabrielle Pearson and Kimberly Westcott. Five
seventh graders began their program and will finish next year: Joseph
Crowell, Missy Hobson, Ansley Mosbarger, Adam Mosher and Amanda Rogers.
The church's confirmation program included Bible memorization, taking
sermon notes, and attending Sunday school faithfully, along with an
end-of-the-year project that took on many forms. Some wrote songs,
others produced timelines to document their journeys and the journeys of
others in the faith, and others spoke about their faith in front of
peers. More about Project Deep Roots can be found by calling the church
and pastor Keith Carpenter at 253-631-0222.
Covenant Communications is interested in learning more about how
churches educate their confirmation classes as it researches how the new
Journey discipleship materials have helped in the Christian
formation process. Insights and comments about the materials can be sent
by email to newsdesk@covchurch.org, given by telephone at 773-478-4631
or mailed to the Department of Communication, 5101 N. Francisco Avenue,
Chicago, IL, 60625.
Copyright © 2008 The Evangelical Covenant Church. |
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