A Liturgy for Enrollment in Friends in Faith |
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Mentor (Friends in Faith) Service Pastor: Invite all the mentors (also known as Friends in Faith) to gather with their student around the altar in pairs. Pastor: (Addressing the parents, students, and congregation) "Will you, parents, as well as members of this congregation, continue to support these young people and their friends in faith by prayer and faithful examples, and will you continue to help these young people grow in their knowledge and love of God?" Congregation: "We will." Pastor: (Addressing the ninth graders - or whichever grade of youth you first assign your mentors to) "When you were baptized, God made promises to you and gave you the gift of the Holy Spirit. Your parents and the people of this congregation have helped you grow in faith by being faithful to their own promises made at your baptism. Are you ready now to enter further into our life together through renewed commitment to the worship of God, through service, and through your active involvement in our Friend in Faith program throughout your high school years?" Ninth Grade Class: "We will." Pastor: (Addressing the adult friends in faith) "Friends in faith, God's people are called to build one another up in the faith. Will you support your friend in faith as they continue their own journey of faith, with your prayers, words, deeds, and time?" Adult Friends in Faith: "We will." Pastor: "Let us pray." "Most gracious God, we thank you for the youth who have experienced the guiding presence of the Holy Spirit in their lives. As they enter our Friend in Faith program, give them your peace, and enable them to continue growing in their love and service of you throughout their lives. Lord in your mercy... All: "Hear our prayer." (The service continues with the Prayers of the church, followed by the exchanging of the peace. As the peace is exchanged, the Friends in Faith pairs return to their seats.) This service can be used with all programs that match a non-relative adult with a youth of the congregation. Our program ran through the 4 high school years, after which time the adult was eligible to take on the mentoring role of another 9th grader. In some cases, the pair kept in touch throughout the student's college years. Activities were planned at intervals in each of the 4 years for all the friend in faith pairs of individual classes and occasionally for all of the pairs in the entire high school. |
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