J2A The opening
activity for the two years of J2A, for grades 9-10, is an activity in independence, of naming and owning a particular role in the activity, of learning from the feedback they receive
from others in the group. The two years are off and running. The work of knowing one's self and how one relates to society and to God has begun.J2A builds on Rite 13 by training
young people in six necessary skills of adulthood: Listening, Assertion, Negotiation, Research & Information Management, and Partnership & Leadership. As with Rite 13, there
is a common systematic focus on all the aspects of a whole person. Self, Society, Sexuality, and Spirituality are the areas which are covered, in depth, in the light of the Gospel, in
order that the reality of young people's lives can be strengthened, encouraged, healed, corrected, and empowered by the life and wisdom of Jesus Christ. The program takes seriously
the need to deal with what is real for young people, to honor their questions, to assure them that they are real people with real, valid, and authentic experiences. And we undertake
to place a scriptural, spiritual, and liturgical frame around each and every one of those experiences. To do less than that is to imply that God is only interested in our piety or in
our ability to participate in certain rituals. God is absolutely interested in every aspect of human life. That is one reason for the incarnation: to remind us all, time and time
again, of God's presence in the mundane and the sublime, in our search and in our silence, in our understanding and our misunderstanding. By entering into a dialogue with young
people about all of their concerns, and by offering to them the instruction of faith, as best we can, we seek to show these youngsters, in the words of the Collect for Young Persons,
"That your ways give more life than the ways of the world, and that following you is better than chasing after selfish goals" (BCP829). If we look at the self in isolation, rather
than as part of the Body of Christ, we miss God's calling to wholeness. And if we consider societal needs and social action without considering the implications of our spirituality,
we miss the chance to see that all of God's actions in history have been on behalf of the poor, the downcast, the disenfranchised. As we acknowledge and re-establish the links between
Self, Sexuality, Society, and Spirituality, we empower ourselves and young people to offer our bodies - in fact, our whole lives - to God as a living sacrifice. At the end of the
two years of J2A, the group is given a course in preparation for Confirmation. As this point, most young people are ready to make "a public affirmation of their faith and commitment
to the responsibilities of their Baptism ..." After four years in the Journey To Adulthood Program, participation in Confirmation becomes a mature decision made by
spiritually-equipped young people, and it places Confirmation in its proper context, not as a rite of passage, not as an exit ritual, but rather a chance for the individual youth to
confirm that which was said for them and to them at their Baptism. It is their chance to stand before the community of faith and make a public declaration of their understanding of
their place in the journey of faith, and their desire and willingness to continue the journey with us, all together, in the Body of Christ. |
