On February 6-7, 2010, nine members of the Confirmation Class and four adults went to the Dallas area for the annual “Confirmation Celebration Overnighter.”  This entailed MANY things:

Doing a canned / boxed good scavenger hunt to benefit CCA (Christian Community Action) in Lewisville, Texas;

Learning about what John Wesley thought were the most important themes in Scripture and for our faith (Prevenient, Justifying, and Sanctifying Grace);

Playing Put-Put Golf, Lazer Tag, Go Carts, and Arcade Games at Adventure Landing in Dallas;

Spending the night at FUMC Lewisville;

Attending St. Luke “Community” United Methodist Church in South Dallas (Confirmands said this was AWESOME); and

Attending the Confirmation Celebration with Bishop Earl Bledsoe at FUMC Denton.  Several hundred other confirmands from around the North Texas Conference were there.

Special thanks for the adults that assisted Rev. Troy Sims:  Karen Rogers, Kevin O’Connell, and Jeff Thacker.  This event would not have been a success without them!

For more pictures, click the “strip” below:

The 2009-2010 Confirmation Class attended Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church on Saturday, October 3, 2009 in order to see similarities and differences between Catholocism and Protestantism.  After the service, Rev. Troy Sims showed the class some of the distinctively Catholic aspects of their Sanctuary and faith.

Check out the picture below taken after worship:

The 2009-2010 Confirmation Class visited the House of Jacob Synagogue in Wichita Falls on Friday, September 25, 2009.  Rabbi Danny Kislin spent some time telling them about the history of Judaism as well as pointing out similarities and differences between Christianity, the Jewish faith, and even secular culture.  He even showed them two Torah scrolls (each scroll contains Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy) – did you know that there are NO vowels in these writings?  In addition, each was written by hand!  One was even over 300 years old!

After sharing in worship with the local congregation, the Confirmation Class went and ate at Braums.

Check out the pictures below:

Confirmation for those entering the 6th Grade for the 2009-2010 School Year will begin on Sunday, August 23, 2009 at 9:15am.  If you have a child (or know a child) going into the 6th Grade that will be participating in this important aspect of raising a child in faith, fill out the form below!

Confirmation is a time set-aside by the church to teach and nurture 6th grade boys and girls in the basics of the Christian faith and our understanding of that faith as United Methodists. The purpose is to prepare these young people to be able to decide for themselves if they are ready to make a personal commitment to God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit as well as the church.  Here at FUMC, we do Confirmation throughout the school year during the Sunday School hour (9:15-10:15am).

Check out this list of topics and some special events coming this school year in Confirmation:

• 1-Beginning the Journey / 2-What is Confirmation (led by Rev. Sims)

• 3-What Is a Christian? / 4-What Is the Church?

• 5-Our Jewish Heritage

• A trip to the House of Jacob Synagogue

• 6-The Church’s History

• 7-Our Common Heritage With All Christians

• A trip to a local Roman Catholic Church

• 8-Our Protestant Heritage

• 9-Our United Methodist Heritage

• 10-Our Heritage As a Local Congregation (usually involves a “trip” to our heritage room)

• 11-United Methodists Talk Funny

• 12-Worship (led by Jeff Ginn)

• 13-Our Hymnal (led by Kristen Gossett)

• 14-Holy Communion (led by Rev. Goodrich)

• 15-Baptism and Confirmation (led by Rev. Dillard)

• 16-The Social Principles

• 17-Mission and Outreach: Called Into the World

• 18-Faith: To Trust, To Believe, To Commit

• 19-How United Methodists Approach Belief (led by Rev. Sims)

• The Bible: 20-The Book for Christians / 21-Guide to Faith, Belief, & Life / 22-A Tool of Faith (led by Rev. Sims)

• 23-Who Is The God We Worship?

• Let Us Pray:  24-Talking With God / 25-Listening to God (led by Jeff Ginn)

• 26-In the Image of God / 27-What is Sin?

• 28-Who is Jesus? 29-What Did He Do?

• 30-Who is the Holy Spirit?

• 31-The End of the World and Life After Death

• 32-Our Historical Beliefs:  The Creeds

• 33-I Choose Jesus Christ

• 34-I Choose to Live as a Christian

• 35-I Choose Life in the Spirit

• 36-The Call to Christian Discipleship

• 37-The Vows of Confirmation

• 38-Our Decision to Claim the Name

• Usually in February, we will do an overnighter to the Dallas area, which includes an event with about 1,000 other confirmands from the North Texas Annual Conference, a mission project, worship at an African-American UM Church, fun events, and more!

• Usually in April, we will do a retreat at Camp Chaparral (near Iowa Park) to focus on our spiritual gifts.  There, the kids will also write their Affirmation of Faith.

Six confirmands, three youth helpers, and seven adults participated in this annual Confirmation Retreat on April 18-19 where the confirmands learn about their spiritual gifts and how they can use them in their own ministries in the church. It was GREAT!

The Confirmation Class will be going to Camp Chaparral on April 18-19, 2009 for the Annual Christmas in April Retreat.  At this retreat, the Confirmands will:

• Learn about their Spiritual Gifts and how they can use them in the church;
• Write an Affirmation of Faith;
• Choose if now is the right time for them to make a public profession of faith.

The cost for Confirmands will be $45 each.  Please contact Rev. Sims BEFORE April 12 if you plan to attend!

It will be great!

For more information about Confirmation,
contact Rev. Troy Sims, Christian Education Pastor: 940-766-4231, x229.