The Church of Ireland Youth Department (CIYD) has launched its new resource to help prepare young people for confirmation.  The resource – entitled I Believe – was launched today at the General Synod of the Church of Ireland which is taking place at the Royal Marine Hotel, Dún Laoghaire.

The resource has been produced by CIYD’s Youth Ministry Development Officers, Amy McCrea and Andrew Frame.  It can be used over 12 sessions and is based round the Confirmation service, the Ten Commandments and the Apostles’ Creed. Topics include ‘Who is God?’, ‘Why we need a Saviour’, ‘The Sacraments’ and ‘Serving God/Serving others’.  Each session offers a blend of teaching, games, worship and prayer activities and discussion questions. The sessions are aimed to last between 40 and 90 minutes and the resource offers the flexibility for sessions to be tailored to the needs of the particular context.

The President of CIYD and Bishop of Meath and Kildare, the Most Revd Pat Storey, says: “I commend this confirmation resource to you as a helpful aid to preparing candidates for confirmation in the Church of Ireland. It has been prepared and written by CIYD staff who work with youth leaders and volunteers and understand both youth and church culture. It is current, fresh and orthodox in its presentation and teaching.  It is our hope that this will be of great help to clergy and youth leaders, from Derry to Cork, and everywhere in between.”

As well as a Leader’s Manual, a Participant’s Guide has been developed to complement the course.  Each parish will receive a complimentary copy of the Leader’s Manual and a Participant’s Guide.

Further copies will be available at £8/€10 for the Leader’s Manual and £2/€2.50 for the Participant’s Guide.  Both can be purchased through the CIYD office (telephone: 028 9082 8890; email: barbara@ciyd.org) or through the Book Well bookshop, 73 Belmont Road, Belfast, BT4 2AA (telephone: 07581 143 596; email: info@thebookwell.co.uk).