1612 Oceanview Drive, Anchorage, Alaska 99515, United States
Online Confirmation
Description
This Confirmation Course is designed for ELCA students, grades 6-12 in the Anchorage area, to learn more about God and the Bible in anticipation of deciding whether or not to affirm their Baptism. This being said, since the Fall semester will for sure be online, any ELCA students from around the state (plus friends!) are welcome and invited to join us!
Over the course of 14 sessions throughout the 2020-2021 academic year, we will dive deeply in two stories from the Bible: Zacchaeus and Jonah. We will spend 7 sessions on each story and each session will explore the story from a different perspective.
Instructors
- Youth Director, Anthony Adams; Hope, Central, and Alaska Native Lutheran churches; Anchorage AK
- Pastor Erika Bergh, Christ Our Savior Lutheran Church, Anchorage, AK
- Intern Pastor Ollie Bergh, Central Lutheran Church, Anchorage, AK
- Pastor Carol George, St Mark Lutheran Church, Anchorage, AK
- Pastor Jeff Hackler, Central Lutheran Church, Anchorage, AK
- Pastor Lisa Hackler, Alaska Native Lutheran Church, Anchorage, AK
- Pastor Liz Lowry, Lutheran Church of Hope, Anchorage, AK
- Intern Pastor Mel Vesco, St Mark Lutheran Church, Anchorage, AK
Objectives
- To teach our students how to engage with Biblical stories from multiple perspectives
- To deepen relationships with God and others
- To further knowledge of God and the Bible as resources to assist in navigating life
- To grow faith and address doubts as students move towards affirming their baptisms
- To reflect upon the presence and power of God at work in the world around us
- To empower discipleship and lifelong learning in parents as well as students
Expectations
- Students should endeavor to attend as many sessions as possible each semester
- Students will exhibit a willingness to learn and engage in the stories and material discussed
- Students will make and share two creative expression projects each semester based on the story being studied
- If we are able to meet in-person inside, masks will be worn by everyone present the entire time
- Parents will attend the first and last sessions of each semester
- Parents will engage with their kids in-between sessions through prayer and using the questions provided to help foster both the students’ and the parents faith formation.
Creative Expression Projects
Each semester, each student will create one “Creative Expression Project” (two total for the year) to share with the group based on the story being studied. The goal of these projects is to provide a space for personal engagement and reflection on the story in whatever medium best helps each student ingest material. The projects do not have to be long but each student should plan to spend around 5 minutes sharing each of their projects with the group.
The following kinds of projects are encouraged and welcomed but this list is not exhaustive:
- Writing a song, poem, or essay
- Building a diagram
- Making a parade float
- Making a video or social media post
- Drawing a picture or painting
- Illustrating the story with puppets
- Recreating the story using memes or emojis
- Building a mural or statue
- Or any other form of creative expression that is meaningful to you!
Family Prayer Suggestion
Prayer is the first response to God’s Word, and prayer is a good way to discern what a Bible passage means for us today. Martin Luther assumed that faith formation would happen in the home as a family. If you don’t have a practice of family prayer, one popular way is through using the Faith5, five steps for family faith:
STEP 1: SHARE your highs and lows
STEP 2: READ a Bible verse or story
STEP 3: TALK about how the Bible reading might relate to your highs and lows
STEP 4: PRAY for one another’s highs and lows
STEP 5: BLESS one another
This is just a suggestion. There are many different ways to pray as a family. Find what fits your family’s rhythm—and remember, it doesn’t have to be perfect! God will work with anything you do.
Questions for parents to ask students between sessions
- What is something you learned?
- What is something you’d like to learn more about?
- Is anything confusing to you?
- What’s something that has sparked an idea for one of your two Creative Expression Projects?
- Can we read the story together and you teach me something you’ve learned?
- What have you learned about God?
- What kinds of questions have you asked during Confirmation Sessions?
- Why do you think they chose this story to learn about?
- What’s something we can pray about together?
- How is God molding you into a disciple of Jesus?
Zoom Login Information
Contact Pastor Erika through the church office at office@coslc.ws for the Zoom login information.