Confirmation ideas- Help!

[FightingFat]

I’m currently writing a retreat for our confirmation students and could really use help with some ideas for sessions while on the retreat.

Has anyone got any good sessions that have really worked? Any good ice breakers/ games?

I would really appreciate some help!

 

[PatrickJT914]

Hi Fighting Fat,
I might have a few ideas. Some will be from our
parish Confirmation retreats. (1st & 2nd year) In fact we just held
our 2nd year retreat on March 29th,Saturday.We had three
sessions or talks.
1st- Beginnings and Beyond: Basically anything that had a start without end. Marriage, Immigration,etc. Compared to things
that had an end; Sports teams,school year,jobs,etc. Which led
to Confirmation not being a graduation, but a start of a life long
committment to the Church and learning about it.
2nd- Persons are Gifts: That started out with a story about
a town in France during WWII that had been bombed. The towns-
people saw the statue of Jesus was damaged by the bombing.
They started finding the parts, they had basically found most of
statute. Except the hands, so somebody left a placard that said
“I have no hands,except for yours”.This lead to a sponsor/cand-
idate sharing of what gifts do you bring to the community.
3rd- Responding in Love: This first started out as, What is love,
how many times love is shown on the Internet, how love is over-
used,least understood,abused. What catchy phrases and song titles that talk about love, then moving on to what Jesus and the
NT said about love. How Jesus showed the greatest love of all by
his sacrifical dying on the cross with no conditions. How the pagans were so impressed by the Christians love for one another,
that they converted. Which led to what obstacles are there that
prevent from loving more fully.Moved on to what are the practical
ways. First gave examples of 20th & 21st century saints or holy
people, i.e. JPII,Mother Teresa, St.Maximillian Koble. Then went
to the practical: Spiritual Works of Mercy, Corporal Works of Mercy, and simple everyday tasks; smile,listen,be understanding,
say hello,shake hands,etc.
Our 1st year retreat is`a weekend usually in the mountains. Those
talks or sessions are about; Who am I?,Education,Family,
Obstacles, Relationships, and Friendship. The teen leaders usually do the talks,some adults can do a couple. The focus is on
how have they struggled, what problems they faced, how were they successful, what tools or methods do they use in dealing with it, how has God,or Jesus been a part in their lives.(By the
way its getting close to have our 1st year retreat again. 18-20
April 2008)

 

[PatrickJT914]

Hi Fighting Fat,
It’s me again. I hope I don’t bore you, but there is
more. Are you ready for another possibile long reply? Well
here goes. For one of the prayer sessions (2nd year) we used
newpapers. The idea was that the sponsor & candidate would choose something out of the paper. Then would make a prayer out
whatever they found. Then would come together as a large group
to whoever wanted to share their prayer (Object: To make them
aware of other people’s needs.)
As I mentioned in my first reply, we had them think about their
hands being the hands of Jesus and what gifts do they bring to the
community. An activity that showed and related about those items
We had them place their hands (sponsor & candidate) on butcher
block paper, have them trace the outline of their hands, and put them together. Then in the in palm area write or draw a symbol
that reflects the gift.

 

[PatrickJT914]

How are you, Fighting Fat,
I feeling compelled to help you as much as possible. You see I’m, a Youth Ministry/Confirmation Catechist/Small group
facilitator/Planning team (20 yrs for Confirmation) Now, I’m not
claiming to be an expert, just someone who has some experience
and wants to be of service in any way.
With that being said, there is still more. For our 1st yr
retreat we have done the following things: Parents Mail- Before the
retreat the parent(s) write a letter to their teenager. In that letter it
contains; How proud they are of their child, How the parent may
have messed up, Addressing family problems,Sorrow for any pain
or hurt caused, Asking for forgiveness, Acknowledging weakness,
etc. The parent(s) also send one family picture of everybody. This
is keep secret from the candidate, until after the family talk at the
retreat. Then the group leader(s) gives the candidates the letter and photo. The lights are turned down low with candles burning
and instrumental being played in the background. Then they start
to read their letters and look at the photo. And what happens next
WOW!:crying: :crying: :crying: Even the most hard core person
feels something. The group leaders :console: them. It’s hard as an
adult to see them cry. But, this is time the teens get a deeper
appreciation, respect and love for their parent(s) for all the sacrifice
& hardship they do for them.(The retreat team leaders also get a
letter & photo.)
Prayer Partner (PP’s)- This is where the candidates &
leaders get a decorated medium canvass tote bag or something
similiar with their name printed on it. These are hung up. Every-
body puts their name on a piece of paper. It’s placed in a bowl,
bucket,basket or anything that can hold a drawing with. Then each
one draws only one name. They are not to say whose name was
drawn. This activity is announced early and done early AM on the
2nd day. What they are to do is pray for that person during the
course of the retreat. They are also to write notes,create some-
thing,buy something at our store. Throughout the retreat they are
to place the abovementioned items into their prayer partners bag.
The leaders go around to check to see how many items are in the
bags. If, there none or very few, the leaders are to write notes or
buy something. So, nobody goes without something. On Sunday
the last day of the retreat, everybody is sitting in a large circle on
the floor. That’s when prayer partners are discovered and meet. This also can sometimes be emotional.
Other things we do just like everybody else:
- Team presentation and commissioning
- Daily evaluation
- Morning & evening prayer
- Go over the rules
- Nature walk (mountain retreats)
- Sports
- Sing songs w/movement
- No talent show
- Favors
- Night time patrol
- Icebreakers
- Served meals
- Meeting in groups
- Reflection on the talks
- Free time
- Candidates given bibles (part of the retreat fee)

 

[FightingFat]

That’s great! Thanks!

What ice breakers are your favourites? I have a bunch of tough 14 year olds who seem really disinterested and chatty this year and I need to keep them active and interested!

 

[kage_ar]

Have twice as much food as you THINK you will need.

 

[PatrickJT914]

You’re very welcome.

The first one that comes to mind, is called “House and Tenant”.
This is how it basically works.
1st step- You have two people facing each other.
2nd step- They raise their arms above their heads
3rd step- Then their palms join together forming a
an upside down “V” or making a roof.
4th step- One person “tenant” goes underneath
their raised arms.
5th step- A caller says “House” then all the ones
who are joined scramble around looking
for a “tenant”, when they find one they
shelter that person. Only one “tenant”
per “house”. If the any one “house”
does not have a “tenant”. Those two are
eliminated.
6th step- If,the caller says “Tenant” then they have
to run around looking for a “house”.
Again,if they can’t find an open “house”
and left outside, they get eliminated.
7th step- Now to make it interesting the caller
could say a change of everything. Every-
body runs around looking to find people
to form both a “house and tenant”.
Notes: You can mix up the order of how you say it.
You should have a team of a few people to watch for
cheaters. Not moving very much, staying basically in
spot. This icebreaker can probably be used for almost
any size group, although bigger is better. Don’t give
them give too much time to ran around. Because this
game will take too long. I hope I explained it well.

So you say, you have tough 14 yrs olds. They not so tough as
they think. Their just showing a facade A mask. Deep down they
are scared,& unsure of themselves. With time. patience, firmness,
friendliness,concern and love.And also being there for them. Soon,
they come around. That’s just my:twocents:

If, I remember any more I’ll you know. I also have a couple of
resources. One of them is my Archdiocesan Youth Ministry
Catechist specialization notebook.

 

[puzzleannie]

we are going to focus on the gifts of the Holy Spirit, both the Isaiahan gifts and the Corinthian gifts, and how they are used to strengthen the faith of the individual and to build up the Church. the prayers and meditations focus on this. The last hour will be a ministry party exercise–a representative of each parish ministry will give a brief–1 paragraph–summary of their activities, and candidates will have time to visit first the one that attract them the most, then their second and third choices, for 15 min presentations on that ministry and how to become invoved, and invitation to training, orientation or participation in an event. The idea is to get across the point that service is not a project required to receive Confirmation, but an obligation on all the baptised faithful, and to generate a commitment to service and parish life after the sacrament.

 

[FightingFat]

1st- Beginnings and Beyond: Basically anything that had a start without end. Marriage, Immigration,etc. Compared to things
that had an end; Sports teams,school year,jobs,etc. Which led
to Confirmation not being a graduation, but a start of a life long
committment to the Church and learning about it.

Would you include any activities in that session (ie sheets for them to fill in or something) or would you just talk to them?

2nd- Persons are Gifts: That started out with a story about
a town in France during WWII that had been bombed. The towns-
people saw the statue of Jesus was damaged by the bombing.
They started finding the parts, they had basically found most of
statute. Except the hands, so somebody left a placard that said
“I have no hands,except for yours”.This lead to a sponsor/cand-
idate sharing of what gifts do you bring to the community.

Sounds great-- what’s the French story, do you know?

3rd- Responding in Love: This first started out as, What is love, how many times love is shown on the Internet, how love is over-used,least understood,abused. What catchy phrases and song titles that talk about love, then moving on to what Jesus and the NT said about love. How Jesus showed the greatest love of all by his sacrifical dying on the cross with no conditions. How the pagans were so impressed by the Christians love for one another, that they converted. Which led to what obstacles are there that prevent from loving more fully.Moved on to what are the practical ways.

What do you mean by practical ways?

First gave examples of 20th & 21st century saints or holy people, i.e. JPII,Mother Teresa, St.Maximillian Koble. Then went
to the practical: Spiritual Works of Mercy, Corporal Works of Mercy, and simple everyday tasks; smile,listen,be understanding,
say hello,shake hands,etc.

What are the spiritual and corporal works of mercy?

 

[marty1818]

I have helped with a couple of retreats for teenagers about to be confirmed. We typically do a one day retreat. We have four talks throughout the day. One on what confirmation is, one on chastity and Christian living, one on the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and one on prayer. We also have confessions, and end the day with mass. Hope this helps.

God Bless,
Matt

 

[PatrickJT914]

Would you include any activities in that session (ie sheets for them to fill in or something) or would you just talk to them?

After the session we moved on to the newspaper prayer activity. Then went to Prayer and Christian Service a Candidate/Sponsor Sharing. This was page in the candidate’s retreat booklet. On the page were the following questions:

What meaning does prayer have for you? How do you feel about your prayer life? What needs fixing or improving?

Why do you think it is important to pray for those in need? In what
ways can you bring this form of prayer into your life?

Why do you think Jesus prayed before reaching out to help others? How often do you pray before reaching out to help others?

In what ways do you see prayer as being helpful or important while
doing service for others?

God has chosen you, to go forth and bear fruit. What commitments or resolutions would you like to make for yourself as
you prepare for Confirmation and Beyond?

Read Sirach 2:1-6
Together, read this scripture passage. Share a little with each other on what you believe to be the meaning of the passage. Then Candidate, please spend some time alone, writing your thoughts in your journal. On the back side of the page, was a place to write their thoughts and feeling.​

And if time permitted, there was another page to read and share about their thoughts and feelings.The questions on that page follows:

Who are some of the people who have given of their time, energy, and of themselves to help you and what did they do for you?

What are the roadblocks, such as fears, obstacles, concerns, feelings, personal costs, etc. that you find get in your way of being able to be of service to others?

What would make it easier for you to be of service to others?

What are some specific ways that you can give of yourself, your time, your energy and your talents to be of service to others?

What is the personal retreat goal that you set for yourself during the retreat introduction? Has that goal changed? In what ways and
why?

Read Matthew 25:31-46. Share with each other what you hear and what you think it means.
This is another Candidate/Sponsor Sharing time.

Sounds great-- what’s the French story, do you know?
Well basically thats how I remember the story. Our Confirmation/
Initiation Director was the one who told the story. Unfortunately,
she had to retire last June.

What do you mean by practical ways?

Simple and easy things to show love.Such as:
Speak kindly, gently
Listen
Smile
Politeness, Courtesy, Being civil
Respectful
Be understanding
Share your talents with others
See Christ in others
Being thoughtful
Give words of encouragement
A handshake or handclasp
Write a letter, email, text message, or send cards
Call someone on the phone
Saying a simple hello

What are the spiritual and corporal works of mercy?
The Spiritual Works of Mercy

Instruct the ignorant
Counsel the doubtful
Admonish the sinner
Bear wrongs patiently
Forgive all injuries
Comfort the afflicted
Pray for the living and the dead

The Corporal Works of Mercy

Feed the hungry
Give drink to the thristy
Clothe the naked
Shelter the homeless
Console the sick
Visit the imprisoned
Bury the dead

Whoops, I’m sorry I didn’t respond sooner to your questions.

 

[acalboi]

I went on a retreat a few months ago, called Happening (I’m Episcopal) and while there, we had this “Silent Dinner.”

Before the dinner, we had gotten a talk on reconciliation and penance, then we were lead on a faith walk, we were divided into families and told to stand in circles with our eyes closed, holding each others hands, then group by group we were lead to the eating area with our eyes closed, holding hands, trusting that the person leading us would not mislead us.

Then when we got to the eating area,we were lead to our seats individually and seated, and there was a lit votive candle there in a glass holder and a place holder that said something along the lines of “I asked Christ how much he loved you”, there were religious paintings everywhere, particularly of a crucifix made by past Happeners, white christmas lights and the candles were the only form of lighting, the musicians were playing soft music in the background, and it was set up as a formal dinner you know, three courses, salad course, main entree, and dessert. During the dinner, they read the passion narrative to us, and by this time, everyone was crying, it was so humbling to be served by others, so beautiful. Now when i say everyone, i mean about 40 teenagers from 14-18, all crying. After the Passion narrative, the leaders and sponsors of the retreat went around and prayed for each person individually while there was still soft music playing in the background. After this we had family time in our cabins, at which time we talked about the night and how it made us feel, and opened up to each other about things that we normally didnt tell anyone about, it was very touching, during that time, the leaders of the retreat came around and washed our feet, as Christ did his disciples, it was all very touching. Something I am not going to forget. It caused bonds to form that can’t be broken.

I know it seems a bit lengthy, but it is definitely worth it.