Last week on our social media channels, we posted details of what we discovered about curriculum, one of the four dimensions of confirmation (and related practices) that surfaced in the key learnings of our qualitative research. We share those details here, along with a portrait of Trinity Lutheran Church in Owatonna, Minnesota and their 3-year multi-faceted confirmation program combining weekly learning sessions, worship, service, retreats/trips, and “Trinity U” classes–a great example of the consideration of curriculum in confirmation!
Curriculum: Relationships are a key element of the learning environment.
Working with the content of Christian tradition as a core, relationships stood out as an important element. It is not surprising that within a formation model that what happens between and among youth and adults is critical. In this way, relationships were more powerful than any printed curriculum. While curriculum and classroom learning was present, the web of relationships nurtured among confirmands, between confirmands and adults, and between confirmands and the congregation as a whole provided the dynamism for confirmation and was what impacted youth most beyond the classroom.
Portrait: Trinity Lutheran Church in Owatonna, Minnesota
Check out this portrait of Trinity Lutheran Church in Owatonna, Minnesota and their 3-year multi-faceted confirmation program combining weekly learning sessions, worship, service, retreats/trips, and “Trinity U” classes. It’s a great example of the curriculum confirmation dimension! The program was borne out of the learning framework “to know, do, be and become,” which highlights a holistic view of faith formation and involves various senses and learning styles.
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