Our Confirmation Program, PATHS, is a two-year journey for high school students consisting of large group gatherings, small group discussion, service, Mass and community.
Broken into two blocks, our program offers a unique way for teens to come together and discover their faith more fully.
September, October, November, and December will host a monthly Teen Mass followed by a Large Group experience for all participants in our Parish Center.
January, February, and March will host our Small Group sessions in the homes of our dedicated Catechists.
2nd Year Participants will receive the Sacrament of Confirmation in April.
Group Service Opportunities will be offered in December and February.
See our PATHS Program Calendar Here.
This journey consists of:
- Large Group 1st Semester gatherings created to build community, fellowship, and hands-on experiences of faith. PATHS large groups meet at Saint Anne in the Parish Center gym once a month in the first Semester.
- Small Group Participate in rich conversation, break bread together, laugh, pray, and explore your faith. This is exactly how the earliest followers of Jesus experienced their faith! Small groups meet in adult small group leaders’ homes or at the Parish Center. Each group has 2 adult leaders. Approximately 7-8 small group sessions are held and will take place in the 2nd Semester.
- Service to Others Experiencing the Spirit of God in community leads to action to make our world more like God intended it. Faith is not confined to the four walls of the church! Teens are expected to serve their community, church and family for at least 10 hours each year. This can be done individually or as a group.
- Day Retreat. During the second year, teens will get to experience a day retreat to connect with their peers and reflect more deeply on living a life of faith.
- Choose a Sponsor, Confirmation Name, and Letter to the Pastor: Each teen will choose a Sponsor to walk with them, a name with which to be Confirmed by, and compose a letter to Fr. Bernie, our Pastor, about the candidate’s desire to be Confirmed.
At the beginning of the first year, all registered PATHS participants will be provided with information on small group leaders, meeting locations and times. They will then be given the choice of groups that they would like to join. Our expectation is that these groups carry forward to the second year of the program. In order to provide the best possible experience for the participants, individual small group size is limited.
Attendance: In order to get the full benefit of this community and program, participants are expected to participate in all scheduled gatherings. If attendance is an expected problem, please consider contacting us about a self-guided home-based faith option as numerous absences could result in delaying Confirmation or repeating a year.
Adult volunteers who are working with children are required to fulfill all Protecting God's Children components, including attending a safe environment program (VIRTUS), prior to beginning their work.
For more information Contact: Amy Hodson: ahodson@stannebarrington.org or Doreen Sobeski: dsobeski@stannebarrington.org or 847.620.3072