Confirmation preparation 2024 will run from February 25 - May 15: please scroll down for the full schedule as well as a printable schedule.
Registration is now closed - email cathleeni@hfkparish.org to see if there is any more space in this year's prep session. - or mark your calendars now for December 2024 when we will open our registration for next year's prep sessions.
Confirmation Mass will be on May 22, 2024 at 6:30 PM
Confirmation 2024 will be a mix of independent study with the sponsor/candidate pair and parent/candidate groups, as well as large group in-person meetings lead by Cathleen and talks given by different people in our parish including Fr. Bryan, and CORE team members. See below for more details about each component of our program.
Program Components
We will meet on the following Sundays from 2:00 – 3:30pm in the Church. (or Social Hall if a scheduling conflict arises). All sessions will be for candidates for confirmation AS WELL AS their own discussion partner (AKA a sponsor or parent).
- Feb 25 (with a parents)
- March 3 (with a parents)
- March 10 (with Sponsor)
- March 24 (with a parent OR sponsor)
- April 21 (with a parent OR sponsor)
- April 28 (with a parent OR sponsor)
- May 5 (with a parent OR sponsor)
- Wednesday May 15: 6:30 PM Mass
- Rehearsal following Mass on May 15 from 7pm – 8pm (this is the required portion of the evening)
Printable schedule available here.
I will be emailing out 6 “take home sessions” for completion at home with a sponsor.
- 20 – 30 min. of video content
- 30 – 40 min. of discussion time
The goal of a service component of our confirmation preparation program is 3 fold:
- Get involved in our parish community and experience a part of what being a part of a living Catholic community feels like.
- Engage with service and outreach in order to experience the beauty of our Catholic Social Teaching and Jesus’ mandate to love our neighbors and serve those on the margins.
- Grow in community with their peer group of faith through action in hopes that friendships formed in faith and service of others will sustain us throughout our lifetime.
Service opportunities include:
- Holy Thursday: all candidates for confirmation are expected to attend and help with the candlelit path
- Good Friday: help carrying the cross
- Holy Saturday: help passing out and collecting candles
March 15 – 17 at Camp Hamilton for Middle Schoolers: Registration will be available in February.
April 12-14 at Camp Hamilton for High Schoolers: Registration will be available in March.
The goal of our retreat component:
- To retreat from the structures and pulls of daily life, in order to more clearly hear the voice of our Lord in our lives.
- To experience and engage with our faith on a practical and emotional level and not just an intellectual level.
- To build peer relationships based in faith.
- To reflect on how the Lord has touched each of our lives in different ways.
- To discern what areas of our life the Lord is callings us to something new.
Helpful Resources
Answers to Frequently Asked Questions
This information comes directly from the Seattle Archdiocese Website:
CF 18. The sponsor must be a fully initiated Catholic, having been baptized, confirmed, and received their first Eucharist, who leads a life in keeping with the role to be taken on (see CIC, c. 874 §1, 1º-5º). The full initiation of the sponsor is to be verified.
CF 19. The sponsor is to be at least 16 years of age and sufficiently mature for the role.
CF 20. The sponsor must be free to celebrate the sacraments and not bound by any canonical penalty.
CF 21. A parent or legal guardian may not serve as sponsor for his/her child.
It is generally not advisable for a spouse, fiancée, boyfriend, or girlfriend, to serve as sponsor.
CF 22. If the sponsor is unable to participate in the celebration of confirmation, a proxy may be designated.
The proxy must fulfill the same requirements as the sponsor. The absence of the sponsor during the celebration of confirmation does not invalidate the sacrament (see CIC, c. 892).
If your sponsor fulfills all of the above requirements and is not a member of Holy Family Kirkland Parish: please have them contact their parish of record (parish where they were baptized) to get their sacramental record sent to Holy Family Kirkland: Attn: Cathleen Ito. 7045 120th AVE NE, Kirkland WA 98033
Confirm Registration Form: Click HERE
Canon law says people can get Confirmed at the Age of Discretion, which is known as 7. It also allows Bishops in each country to decide at what age they want to Confirm. And then in the US and Canada, each Bishop can set the age he considers best for his diocese. The archdiocese of Seattle has recently allowed parishes to start the migration from age 16 down to 7th grade.
We require that candidates be in 7th grade to start our confirmation preparation program.
I recognize that we will most likely have some high school candidates for preparation. Once registration has happened and we have a better idea of the age split there is a possibility that some of the older high school kids will do a more age appropriate group study. We have to see how the age split of registration is before we make this determination. We will do our best to prepare our seniors for a confirmation date this coming spring before they go off to college!
The single most important thing you can do for yourself in this process is to be open to it. Some of us come to Confirmation on our own, many at the urging of our parents or because it is what we think we are supposed to do as young Catholic. However you get here, know that if you enter the process with an open mind and HEART, that God will do amazing things for and with you in the months to come. Make a plan for a consistent time in your week to dive into the sessions, and be open to the word of God through scripture. Trust your parents, your parish, your sponsor and God. This is part of your faith journey.
There is always something more for you to learn and you learn and experience differently at every age. The way that you will learn and discuss your faith today will be considerably different from the way you did at the age of 6, or 10 or even just last year. You will encounter new topics, regardless of how much you know. Every time we come back to the same information, we are different people and have the opportunity to engage with it in new ways. The more important thing to remember is that Confirmation is all about the transformation of the heart, not stockpiling facts.
It’s up to you! In the Bible, conversion is often symbolized by a name change. While your parents gave you a name at Baptism to symbolize your new life in Christ, you can choose a symbolic name at Confirmation. However, you should choose a name because you admire some quality of the Saint, not just because you don’t like your name or just like the Saint’s name!
If you are still trying to decide, I suggest that you look at the schedule, think about it, talk about it with your parents, and pray about it. You should enter in to it willingly – otherwise you might not get anything from the process. It is true that you can be Confirmed later, but the gift is here, waiting for you right now. I suggest giving it a try. You don’t have to commit to getting Confirmed right away but the process should help you know whether it is right for you at this time in your life or not! And starting the program does not commit you to Confirmation – at any time, if you have concerns or questions, or feel like this is not the right time for you to be Confirmed, you can talk to Cathleen and she will help you discern if you should continue or not.
If we waited until we were perfect, none of us would ever get Confirmed! God’s love is a gift, we don’t earn it. We have the choice to accept or reject the gift. This is not a graduation from faith, it is a step in the journey!
You will not be punished or rejected by the Church. You may experience tension at home, but Cathleen and your sponsor will help you talk to your parents about your decision, if you wish. Again, we would love for you to come to the meetings, open yourself to the process and pray for God to show you His will.