St. Patrick Catholic Church

Orientation - August 22, 2021

• Director Introduction: Melissa Harshbarger.  I have served as the Director of Faith Formation for 2 years and as the Youth Minister for 8 years. I grew up in our parish!  My grandparents were founding members of St. Patrick and I celebrated my sacraments here.  My husband and I have two daughters, Riley and Isabella.  Riley is in 9th grade at St. Michael High School and Isabella is in kindergarten at The Emerge School for Autism. I truly serving our families at St. Patrick!
• Confirmation Leaders: Our team has worked together for several years now.  Along with myself, Mrs. Pam Glover, Ms. Tamara Bello and Mrs. Erin Kimbrough serve on our team. Deacon Alec Campbell will also join us when he able.  We are super excited!
• Requirements: The Diocese of Baton Rouge confirms in 11th grade.  Prior high school catechesis is required through the Catholic School or Parish School of Religion.
• Schedule:  Schedule can be found below on the Calendar.  We have 6 Sessions and a retreat.  It is very important that candidates attend each session.  If a session is missed, it must be made up.  If the candidate is unable to attend a session, let me know ASAP.  We will call the parent if a candidate is a no-show.  
• Parent's role: Encourage your child to attend all sessions, attend Mass each Sunday, help your child choose a sponsor and talk to your child about his/her faith life.  You will receive a resource that will be a helpful guide!  If you don't attend Mass regularly, start now!  Go out for coffee or lunch or ice cream after Mass and spend time as a family.  It is helpful to associate Mass with something you do as a family.  
• Confirmation Date: February 5th at 4:00 pm Mass.  We will practice that morning in the Church with candidates and sponsors at 10:00 am.  Candidates will return at 3:00 pm to the Family Center. The Bishop will come in and meet with the candidates before Mass.  
• Retreat: November 7, 8 am - 4pm.  Retreat will be here at St. Patrick.  Sponsors will be invited to join us for a portion of the day.  We will also have a service component to the retreat in serving our 2nd grade students for their 1st Reconciliation retreat.  
• Ministry/Service:  Ordinarily we would require that candidates join or attend two ministries or two ministry meetings.  Unfortunately, many of our ministries are not meeting regularly due to Covid so we will not make this a requirement this year.  We will encourage it and offer service opportunities.  
• Phones/Technology Policy:  So that we can be present and lessen distractions when we meet, we will have candidates turn in their phones when they come in and get them back when we leave.
• Sessions:  Our sessions will begin at 10:15 am.  We will attend Mass together at 11:30 am.  Families and sponsors are welcome to join us for Mass!  
• Saint names and sponsors:  Check the tabs below for more information.
• Registration: Click on the registration tab below to register.  Just a heads up that the site is called VBS Pro.  There is a $55 registration fee.  If this is a hardship, please let me know.  This will cover the cost of materials and retreat.  
• Consent forms:  There is a consent form under the registration tab.  Since we have to have a signed consent for somethings, I was not able to include that in our online registration.  Initial in the boxes and sign and return to me by September 6.
• Flocknote: Communicates for parents and candidates will go out through Flocknote.  Sign up for the Confirmation 2022 Flocknote using the form at the bottom of this page.  
• Program materials: We will base our program on Decision Point by Matthew Kelly but we will pull from other resources as well.  Decision Point uses a lot of video but we will base our sessions around discussions and NOT videos!  There is a section for parents and sponsors that you might be interested in.  Here's the link - https://www.dynamiccatholic.com/confirmation/decision-point-parents.html 
• Covid Protocols: At this time, masks are required for all on campus events.  If your child has any covid symptoms or has been exposed to a person with covid, please do not send them to a confirmation session.  Let me know right away if your child tests positive or is in quarantine.  
• Contact:  My contact information is on the bottom of this page. Call or text me on my cell phone or email me to reach me the fastest.  Please feel free to reach out anytime!    

This time is especially important for students preparing for Confirmation. These sessions will be focused on material relating specifically to Confirmation. They will have engaging lessons, group discussion, fellowship, and Mass!  Sessions begin at 10:15 am and we will attend 11:30 Mass together.  Parents, sponsors, families are welcomed and encouraged to join us for Mass.

Should students be absent for any reason, the session will need to be made up. Please call or text Melissa Harshbarger at 225-937-8587 if you will not make the class.  Parents will be called if the candidate does not show up.

• 8/22/21 - 10:30 - Orientation - Family Center (FC) 
• 9/19/21 - 10:15-12:30 - Session 1 - FC/Church
• 10/3/21 - 10:15-12:30 - Session 2 - FC/Church
• 10/17/21 - 10:15-12:30 - Session 3 - FC/Church
• 11/7/21 -  8 am-4 pm - RETREAT - FC/Church
• 12/5/21 - 10:15-12:30 - Session 4 - FC/Church
• 1/9/22 - 10:15-12:30 - Session 5 -  YFC/Church
• 1/23/22 - 10:15-12:30 - Session 6 - Saint Presentations - FC/Church
• 2/5/22 - 10:00 am - Practice with Candidates and Sponsors - Church
• Confirmation Mass - arrive at 3:00 pm to the Family Center - Mass begins at 4:00 pm

Complete the registration form by September 6, 2021.  Confirmation registration is $55 and covers the cost of all materials and the retreat.  If this is a hardship, please let me know. 

COMPLETE THE REGISTRATION FORM.
CONFIRMATION FEE
CONSENT & RELEASE FORM

Candidates: Please answer the following questions honestly!  Answers will be kept confidential by the confirmation team leaders.

COMPLETE YOUR CANDIDATE QUESTIONNAIRE HERE. 

If the confirmation candidate was not baptized at St. Patrick, submit a copy of their Baptismal Certificate to mharshbarger@stpatrickbr.org.  You can snap and picture or scan and email it.  

Requirements for a sponsor:

• Sponsors must be at least 16 years of age.
• Sponsors must be practicing Catholics in full communion with the Catholic Church (must have received all sacraments of initiation: Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist).
• Your parents cannot be your sponsor.
• Each sponsor needs to fill out a Sponsor Eligibility Form and have it signed and sealed by their parish priest. If your sponsor is a member of St. Patrick, they just need to fill out the form and return it to me.

At the Confirmation Mass, you will be introduced to the Bishop by your Saint name. This is a very biblical practice.  Throughout the Bible, you find times where God made a covenant with someone and their name was changed.  This signified a radical transformation in their lives as they followed God.  Some examples of this are Abram to Abraham, Saul to Paul, Simon to Peter.  If you haven't chosen a Saint name, don't worry!  We will talk about choosing a Saint Name in our sessions!  A good place to start might be your first or middle name if you have a name attributed to a Saint.  You might also look at your interests and research Saints who may be patrons of your interest. And then pray about it!  Ask God for help in choosing your Saint name and then see who God might be revealing to you.  

BISHOP BARRON VIDEO ON CONFIRMATION NAMES.

SUBMIT YOUR SAINT NAME HERE.