By Lindsay Peyton

Confirmands in the Texas Annual Conference are invited to join Bishop Cynthia Fierro Harvey in a day of worship, learning and conversation. “Confirmand Day with the Bishop” will begin at 10 a.m. on Saturday, March 2 at Memorial Drive UMC, 12955 Memorial Dr. in Houston.

“Confirmand Day with the Bishop” is for all confirmands whether they have begun their journey toward confirmation, completed it or are planning to begin the process later this year. 

Rev. Ben Burnside, responsible for clergy recruitment and development in the Conference Center for Leadership Formation, is organizing the Confirmand Day. The day will feature clergy and youth leaders in an interactive workshop-ish format covering topics designed to engage young people in the confirmation process.

Bishop Harvey will be a presenter answering questions from the confirmands and leading in worship and communion. 

 “I look forward to meeting and listening to confirmands from across the conference who represent the next generation of church leaders,” Bishop Harvey said. “Seeing their eagerness to embrace faith and to serve is energizing!”

While serving in Louisiana, Harvey met with confirmands each year and learned of their hopes and dreams for the conference and The United Methodist Church. Over the 10 years she met some outstanding young people who years later she encountered again as they discerned their own call to ministry. They often had kept notes the bishop sent to them during Confirmand Day.

“Her presence with the confirmands made a lasting impression,” Burnside said. “And it was also something that she loved to do.”

Connecting the Bishop with Confirmands resonates as a way to strengthen faith and also cultivate the call to ministry at a young age.

“In the Texas Annual Conference, there’s always been a strong culture of call,” said Burnside. “It’s something I feel is in our DNA. It’s time to reinvest in that.”

The Conference has a long tradition of supporting discerning youth. In the past, high school students have attended the Texas Youth Academy (TYA), a two-week summer intensive, and university students became immersed in the daily life of a congregation through the College Pastoral Internship Program (CPIP).

Now, Burnside is looking for new ways to engage students and support their journey as faith leaders.  Connecting confirmation students with the Bishop seems like an ideal first step.

Churches approach Confirmation in various ways yet they are all engaged in important conversations about faith. It’s a time when they can ask questions and form their own identity in the church.

“Ultimately, they come to a point where that faith becomes their own,” Burnside said. “It’s no longer something just given to them.” Confirmation is a time when the young person says yes to God, adding their ‘yes’ to that of their parents and of God.

It is also about declaring to the congregation, friends and family that they do believe for themselves and become a member of the church and begin to take responsibility for the well-being of the church.

Confirmation is a crucial time in faith development.

There is no charge for the event. Lunch will be provided for those in attendance. Advance registration is required to attend.

To learn more and to register, visit: www.txcumc.org/confirmationday