Confirmation News

July 11, 2019

Dear Parish Families:

In an effort to keep everyone up to date on the Confirmation preparation changes, we want to give you a brief description of what we, as a parish, are planning to do.

Beginning in the fall of 2019, our Confirmation program will be undergoing a transformation. The Diocese has asked all Faith Formation programs to begin lowering the Confirmation age, in part to help engage our youth to encounter Christ more deeply with the sealing of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, at a younger age. The thought is that our youth are facing challenges earlier and earlier.

 We are viewing this as an opportunity to shift the culture of how our youth approach our Catholic Faith. Confirmation is one part of a lifelong faith journey. Families are the primary educators of faith and we hope they will partner with us in the process.

 The program will change to a one-year preparation program. For Confirmation this year, we will be confirming 8^th, 9^thand 10^thgraders. In 2020-21 we will confirm 7^thand 8^thgraders, 2021-22 6^thand 7^th, and in 2022-23 we will confirm 6^thgraders. Over the next few years, we will be in a phase of restructuring how the program will be run.

 Our hope is that after Confirmation our youth will transition into a youth program that is being worked on to possibly model the present Confirmation program.

 Thank you for all you do as primary catechists and first teachers of the faith to your children. 

 Please keep the Confirmation program in your prayers. For more information, please feel free to contact us.

 God Bless,

Father Bob Wiseman, CSC and Father Hugh Cleary, CSC

802-442-3141 (Sacred Heart Saint Francis)

802-447-7504 (St John the Baptist)

Email: [email protected]