Confirmation

Students begin Confirmation prep in 9th grade and are confirmed in their 10th-grade year or older after having completed 2 years of Confirmation prep. In order to prepare for the Sacrament of Confirmation:

  • Parents and Confirmation sponsors of first-year students should attend the Parent/Sponsor Meeting on Monday, October 28th, at 6:30 pm.

  • Students are to complete two years of Confirmation prep.

  • Students are to participate in service activities in three categories: family, parish, and community.

  • Students are to attend the Confirmation Retreat during their second year of Confirmation prep. See the calendar for details.

  • Students are to attend Mass every Sunday and on holy days of obligation.

  • Students are to celebrate the sacrament of Reconciliation.

Important Links

First-Year Confirmation Prep

Complete and turn in the following forms to Mary Jo Schechinger at maryjo.schechinger@slte.org by the due dates as follows:

Due at the second small group session

Due by Thanksgiving

Between January and April

  • Sponsors should have the three conversation starters listed under “The Way” (pages 20-22 in the sponsor guide) to go over with their candidate.

Due by the first week of April

Second-Year Confirmation Prep

Complete and turn in the following forms to Mary Jo Schechinger at maryjo.schechinger@slte.org by the due dates as follows:

Due by Thanksgiving

Between October and November

  • Sponsors should have the three conversation starters listed under “The Truth” (pages 23-25 of the sponsor guide) to go over with their candidate.

Between November and December

  • Sponsors should have the three conversation starters listed under “The Life” (pages 26-28 of the sponsor guide) to go over with their candidate.

Due by the first week of January

After Confirmation

  • Even though the Confirmation program is over, sponsors, please have the three conversation starters listed under “Mystagogy” (pages 29-31 of the sponsor guide) to go over with your candidate and continue to walk with them and encourage them as they continue to grow in the Faith hereafter.

Service Hour Opportunities

St. Teresa of Avila has a beautiful message for students to contemplate as they decide how they want to serve others. “Christ has no body now but yours, no hands, no feet on earth but yours.” How can we be Jesus’s hands and feet?  

  • October 16th - Wrap babies for Pulse Life Advocates. We will meet in the meeting room from 8:15-9:15 pm.

  • October 19th - Volunteer to help with Oxtoberfest.

  • November 2nd - St. Luke’s garden clean up at 10 am. The garden is located on the Southwest side of the building. No need to sign up. There must be a parent accompanying the student when volunteering for this.

  • November 13th - Help make tie blankets for babies. We will meet in the meeting room from 8:15-9:15 pm. This is usually a popular activity. Families can purchase materials to make tie blankets at home if students are interested in more service hours with tying blankets. If you drop the blankets off at the parish before November 18th, I can take them to organizations that help moms in the area. Email maryjo.schechinger@slte.org and I can share where we purchase the kits.

  • November 16th - Volunteer to help with Mary’s Helping Hands 5k charity run. Click here to see details. Email info@mhhiowa.org to volunteer.

  • St. Luke's Knights of Columbus Breakfast - November 24, 9:30 am - 12 noon. In need of volunteers to help bus tables, clean up in the kitchen, and tear down and put away tables and chairs.

  • December 17th - We will clean the church as we prepare for Christmas. We will meet in the church and clean from 6:30-7:30 pm.

  • February 8 - Volunteer to help with the Green Gala.

  • April 14th - We will clean the church to prepare for Easter. We will meet in the church and clean from 6:30-7:30 pm.

  • June TBD - Help with Vacation Bible School.

  • Weekly RE help - Sign up using this link.

  • Concession Stand help - Sign up using this link. There must be a parent accompanying the student when volunteering for this.

  • Mary’s Helping Hands - Click here to learn how you can help. Email info@mhhiowa.org to set up a time to volunteer. A parent will need to accompany the student.

  • Pulse Life Advocates - Contact mdewitte@pulseforlife.org to learn how to volunteer. We wrapped babies as a service hour. If a group wants to wrap babies again as a small group, they can contact mdewitte@pulseforlife.org. 

  • Send Christmas cards or birthday cards to Seminarians - Ask Mary Jo Schechinger for a list of names and addresses. The notes can be notes of thanksgiving, letting them know we are praying for them, ect. 

  • Sleep in Heavenly Peace (SHP) Service Project - Rotarians in the Rotary Club of Ankeny Evening, members from the St. Luke's Primetimers group, and other family and friends have donated time over the past 4 months towards this project. Volunteers build wooden bed frames and deliver and set up single and bunk beds to families throughout the Des Moines metro area to benefit children that do NOT have beds of their own. An estimated number of 350 children do not have a bed of their own and often sleep on the floor. Minor children volunteers must be 12 YOA and older and accompanied by a parent or guardian. All volunteers need to sign up and complete an electronic waiver

  • St. Vincent de Paul Truck - Help receive and load donated items. The truck will be parked in the South Parking lot at St.Luke's from 10 am until 4 pm on November 9th. 

    • The truck is in the Our Lady's Immaculate Heart parking lot on the 1st and 3rd Saturdays from 10 am - 4 pm. There must be a parent accompanying the student when volunteering for this.

Additional Resources

Registration for Confirmation Prep

Both first and second-year Confirmation students need to register. Students will meet in small groups with students of the same gender. Many small groups will meet offsite.

Click here to register!

For more information, please contact Mary Jo Schechinger at MaryJo.Schechinger@slte.org.