All Are Welcome!
WORSHIP
Worship and Communion are held every Sunday 8:30am - Bethel Lutheran 10:30am - Immanuel Lutheran - ALL are Welcome Masks are required if not vaccinated. (If you are fully vaccinated masks are not required but are always welcome as an added precaution.) CONTACT US:Pastor Kari Pancoast
EMAIL: pastorkari@brainerd.net How To Find Us:Immanuel Lutheran Church of Hillman is located at the intersection of County Hwy 27 and County Hwy 47. It is one mile west of County 8.
Contact Us
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Sisters and brothers in Christ,
Let’s talk about confirmation. Most of you probably remember going to confirmation classes when you were growing up. Some of you had to go to class every Saturday morning all year. Some of you might have been released from school on Wednesday afternoons to have “religious instruction” time with your pastor during the school day. Some of you went to confirmation class every Wednesday evening after an already long day of school and sports’ practice. Some of you had to memorize the whole catechism, including the meanings. Some of you had to be quizzed in front of the congregation or recite portions of scripture to prove you had actually learned. Some of you had to read chapters in a textbook and complete homework. Some of you had to do more worksheets than you can count. The methods of confirmation instruction may have changed from what many of you remember, but the goal of confirmation remains the same. Confirmation instruction is for the purpose teaching our young people what it means that they are children of God who, in their baptism, have been marked with the cross of Christ and sealed with the Holy Spirit. Confirmation is literally the affirmation of baptism. Confirmation is our young people publicly professing their faith and saying YES! to the promises that were made on their behalf, promises that they will live as a disciple of Jesus. My goal is that in confirmation instruction our young people grow in faith and in their understanding of who they are as children of God. I want them to know the Biblical stories of God’s faithfulness to his people (themselves included) as well as other stories they know (Disney, Marvel, Harry Potter, sports heroes…) so that the stories of the Bible and God’s faithfulness shape who they are and are a point of reference as they interact in the world. I want our young people to know what it means that we are Lutheran Christians and how that is similar to and different from other Christian denominations and faith traditions. I want them to know our Lutheran interpretation/understanding of scripture, our Lutheran confessions (small catechism), and the history of our church. I believe this understanding and knowledge will equip them to be big thinkers about how they see God active in the world and about how they can live their faith throughout their lives. I also want confirmation class to be tied to involvement in the life of the congregation, so our young people hopefully become connected to their church family and develop a worship life so that it becomes just a normal part of who they are and what they do. And I want confirmation to be an opportunity for our young people to begin to learn and practice serving their neighbor by using the gifts that God has given them. As the year goes on, there will be some opportunities for the rest of the congregation to join in some of our confirmation experiences as guests in class, mentors, prayer partners, friendly faith-filled adults, etc. Please continue to pray for our young people and be watching for ways you can be involved. (If you know of a student 6th grade or older who is not a part of confirmation instruction, and would like to join us, please let me know!) See you in worship! Pastor Kari |
