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Concerned that Confirmation represent more than one Sunday morning in the life of a young person. Pastor Andrew Rogness has discovered a way to

• share the confirmand's spiritual pilgrimage

• create a positive lasting impression on both young people and parents

• bring life to the Confirmation service

• draw the congregation closer together.

Two weeks before Confirmation Sunday, Rogness asks the 8 to 12 young people in the class at Advent Lutheran Church in Madison, Wisconsin, to bring a dozen pictures representing different stages in their lives. He also asks for the names of five or six songs that each confirmand has found meaningful.

In addition, each young person's account of his or her faith journey is taped, and Rogness has each set of parents record some of their memories of their child's growth.

The week before Confirmation Sunday, Rogness and the choir director spend several mornings weaving the visual and spoken media together. They select two or three of the songs to intersperse between comments.

During the Rite of Confirmation, two slide projectors are used. One projects a current picture of the individual while the other shows the six or seven pictures Rogness has chosen to represent the life journey.

In one presentation, for instance, a girl was pictured with her father before his death. With "The Impossible Dream" playing in the background, she told how her mother had remarried. As a family portrait taken at her mother's recent wedding came on the screen, the girl said, "I love my father and mother. I'm glad she found another man to love and love her. Now I love them."

Such a project does take time, Rogness admits. "But then, it replaces the sermon, and the appreciation of the young people and parents makes it all ...

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