YOUTH &
FAMILY
Nurture Each Other in Faith
Our mission at Gethsemane Lutheran Church is to be compassionate, inclusive and to walk with Jesus. Through gospel, service, worship and missions, we bring God closer to our hearts and closer to the hearts of those around us. As a fellowship of believers, we have the honor of proclaiming the glory of Christ to one another in a loving and caring setting.
Education Opportunities
Sunday School
Sept -May: K4-6th grade
10:15-11:15 am Lower Level Classrooms
Wednesday Confirmation Classes
First & Last Wed of Each Month
Sept -May: Grades 7-10
6-8pm pm Meet in Youth Room
“Train children in the right way, and when old, they will not stray”
(Proverbs 22:6)
Faith Formation
“Do you intend … to live, hear, proclaim, serve, strive?”
“We do, and ask God to help and guide us”
These marks of the life of a baptized Christian, tell us that
faith formation is “truly about forming a person of faith through the practices of faith".
“Faith formation is about what it means to be a child of God, and to live in this world as a Christian.”
For the church, leadership begins here: in our baptized identity as children of God,
the heart of a faith that is formed in us our whole lives long.
Faith
A living, daring confidence in God’s grace.
When Lutherans talk about faith, we are talking about the relationship God’s Holy Spirit creates with us. It’s a relationship where God’s promise of steadfast love and mercy in Jesus opens us to a life of bold trust in God and joyful, generous service to everyone we know and meet in daily life.
Martin Luther was exuberant when he described the freedom of “a living, daring confidence in God’s grace, so sure and certain that believers would stake their lives on it a thousand times.” He once wrote, “Oh, it is a living, busy, active, mighty thing, this faith. It is impossible for it not to be doing good things unceasingly.”
Faith convictions expressed as statements of belief flow from this confident trust in God. ELCA Lutherans share in the faith expressed in the Apostles’, Nicene and Athanasian Creeds, in the Lutheran confessional writings (collected as the Book of Concord), and in the ELCA Confession of Faith.
At the same time faith does not close our minds to the world and our hearts to others. We continue to listen to the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments. We listen to the witness of others and we watch for the ways God is active in the world around us. Faith opens a place for engaging others in conversation, for seeking the truth, for asking questions and speaking love in word and deed.
Faith is a full life, liberated for a living, daring confidence in God’s grace.
Baptism
“Do you intend to continue in the covenant God made with you in holy baptism:
to live among God’s faithful people;
to hear the word of God and share in the Lord’s supper;
to proclaim the good news of God in Christ through word and deed;
to serve all people following the example of Jesus;
and to strive for justice and peace in all the earth?”
Response: “We do, and ask God to help and guide us.”
Whenever Lutherans gather around a baptismal font and speak these words, it’s a reminder that “from the moment we are born, we are part of God’s family and the community.
The baptismal covenant is one way to describe faith formation, a lifelong process that “doesn’t start in Sunday school and end in confirmation; it starts with our birth and ends in our burial. “Faith formation is holding [one another] to our baptismal promises that not only parents and sponsors make, but the whole community. Martin Luther taught that through baptism every Christian has a holy calling in the world, a vocation from God that is lived out in work, relationships and every part of our daily lives.
First Communion
Holy Communion is a valued sacrament in Lutheranism, and a Lutheran child's First Communion is an important occasion. The age of First Communion varies across denominations and even within congregations,. At Gethsemane First Communion is preceded by a form of catechesis, which is education on religious doctrine.. Instruction is given to all children when they are ready to receive it from our Pastor. At Gethsemane we recommend 2nd or 3rd grade.
When a Lutheran child receives Holy Communion for the first time, that child will be taught to understand what the sacrament means. The most basic teaching of the Lutheran Church — and the easiest and quickest to learn — is Luther's Small Catechism in the Book of Concord. The Small Catechism is often taught to children before a First Communion, and regarding Holy Communion, article VI teaches that the most important part of receiving the sacrament is the belief and understanding of words such as "given for you" and "shed for you for the forgiveness of sins."
Sunday School
Confirmation
Confirmation (7th – 9th grade)
Confirmation occurs at the age when young people are in a time of discovery. Some congregations get this, but sadly many congregations do not. The intent for confirmation is to support faith formation, which translates into ministry in daily living.
While confirmation is a time-honored rite of passage in our Lutheran tradition, we tend to treat confirmation like the finish line when it is really more like the starting gate.
Confirmation, which is now commonly called Affirmation of Baptism, is the time when young people declare for themselves that they will live out the promises made for them by their parents and sponsors in their baptism (that is, of course, assuming that they were baptized as an infant). The years spent in confirmation classes are intended to continue, more intentionally, the exploration of faith, faith and life, and faith and the church so that students can make that affirmation of baptism statement of faith in the hope and trust that God will continue to lead and guide them in all the aspects of their lives now and in the future.
At their affirmation of baptism, confirmands are asked to make this promise for themselves: “…to live among God’s faithful people, to hear the word of God and share in the Lord’s Supper, to proclaim the good news of God in Christ through word and deed, to serve all people, following the example of Jesus, and to strive for justice and peace in all the earth.” The process of preparing people to affirm these promises can take many forms, including classes and increased involvement in congregational life so that they continue to live out their faith in the church and their daily life.
This year confirmation students will learn the six chief parts of Luther’s Small and Large Catechism and explore how they impact their Christian life.
The 6 Chief Parts of the Small and Large Catechisms, by Dr. Martin Luther are:
1. The Ten Commandments
2. The Apostle’s Creed
3. The Lord’s Prayer
4. The Sacrament of Holy Baptism
5. Confession and Absolution
6. The Sacrament of the Altar
Congratulations to our 2023 Confirmands
Sunday Morning 10:30 am
Preschool – 6th Grade
This year Kindergarten – 6th grade students will learn through a variety of Bible stories.
Children's Ministry at Gethsemane provides fun ways for kids to learn more about God through fellowship, Bible study, music, creative arts, multi-media, story-tellings, prayer, and more. Our 'SPARK!' ministry offers K-6th graders great opportunities to grow together in an environment where they can feel safe and comfortable to invite their friends. Sunday school is available during the school year September thru May each year right after Sunday services from 10:15-11am.
We activate faith with Spark Bibles.
* Spark Story Bibles that are designed for ages 2 through grade 2.
* Spark Bible NRSV is perfect for grades 3 through 6.
(All Bibles are provided in the classrooms to all of our Sunday school children).
Gethsemane Youth Camp Scholarship Fund
Camp Scholarship Fund 2023
Once a year our youth go to camp for a whole week. We fundraise all year and have fun doing it.
All for one purpose for our youth to grow in their faith and to become closer to God!
Our goal is to make sure that no child stays at home because of financial burdens. Please prayerfully consider how you can provide scholarship funds. Your contributions are a great investment and have real value. 100% of the Scholarship Fund will be used to provide scholarships to Summer Camp. We are thankful for so many who give to the ministry of Gethsemane Youth Camp Scholarship.
Every dollar is important and is a real investment in the lives of the children who go to camp.
