Welcome to this next leg of your journey of faith! As you all know, we have added a 3^rd year to our Affirmation of Faith journey. The goal is to provide additional opportunities to explore what we believe and what difference our faith makes in our daily lives. This takes place through gathering together as a community, service opportunities, an Affirmation retreat, and faith-filled conversations. This time together is not about programs or even just knowledge, but about how we live our lives as people of God together.

For the 3^rd year, we will be adapting the “God & Life” program developed by P.R.A.Y. (Programs of Religious Activities). While this has sometimes been thought of as a scouting program, it can be used by anyone.

God & Life includes individual work, activities where mentors and learners work together, and service work. Within the framework of the program, learners are able to create their own learning experiences depending on their interests. As part of the monthly meetings, learners will reflect on their experiences and how those experiences informed their faith. This will be new for most of them, so they will need your help, especially at the beginning.

Since there is independent work for both mentors and learners, we will only meet as a group once a month. And since this is a small group, my hope is that you can schedule the meetings when everyone can attend. The meetings don’t have to be at Trinity, and they don’t have to be on Sunday morning. If someone absolutely can’t make a meeting, Pastor and I will meet with you separately, but that should be the exception and not the rule. Please give us at least three times and dates in September when you are able to meet so we can schedule our first gathering.

We participate in the Affirmation Retreat at Koinonia (Koinonia) with several other congregations. The camp is located in Highland Falls, NY, about 2 hours from Brewster.

We look forward to seeing you all in worship and your continued participation as acolytes. If you would rather serve as ushers or communion assistants (and I encourage you to do so), please let us know and we will move you to those lists

The fee for Affirmation continues to be $100, which covers the costs of curriculum, the retreat, affirmation robes, and any other needed program materials. If anyone has any financial difficulties with this cost, please let us know – this should not be a deterrent to participating in this rite of passage.

If you have questions, please feel free to contact us.