PATHS, People After the Holy Spirit, is a two-year Catholic Confirmation Program for high school students designed to deepen faith, challenge growth, and foster friendships within the parish community.

This Ministry consists of:

• Small Groups: Teens will participate in rich conversation, break bread together, laugh, pray, and explore their faith. Small groups meet in adult group leaders’ homes or at the Parish Center. Each group has 2 adult leaders. Approximately 7-8 small group sessions are held throughout the year.

• Large Groups: Large Group gatherings bring all teens from PATHS 1 and 2 together to build community, fellowship, and hands-on experiences of faith. PATHS large groups meet at Saint Anne in the Parish Center gym 4 times throughout the year.

• Retreats: Retreats are an opportunity to step away from a busy schedule and spend some dedicated time with self, God, and peers. Our first year PATHS teens will participate in a mini retreat halfway through the year and our second years will get to experience a full day retreat in the Fall. Both retreat experiences will be held on campus at Saint Anne.

• Service to Others: Experiencing the Spirit of God in community leads to action to make our world more like God intended it. Faith is not confined to the four walls of the church! Teens are expected to serve their community, church and family for at least 10 hours each year. This can be done individually or as a small group.

• Choosing a Sponsor, Confirmation Name, and Letter to the Pastor: Each teen will choose a Sponsor to walk with them, a name with which to be Confirmed by, and compose a letter to Fr. Bernie, our Pastor, about the candidate’s desire to be Confirmed.

At the beginning of the first year, all registered PATHS participants will be provided with information on small group leaders, meeting locations and times.  They will then be given the choice of groups that they would like to join. Our expectation is that these groups carry forward to the second year of the program.  In order to provide the best possible experience for the participants, individual small group size is limited.

Attendance: In order to get the full benefit of this community and program, participants are expected to participate in all scheduled gatherings. If attendance is an expected problem, please consider contacting us about a self-guided home-based faith option as numerous absences could result in delaying Confirmation or repeating a year.

Adult Leaders/Catechists are always needed! Please consider answering God’s call to step into a leadership role and walk with the teens on their journey towards receiving the Sacrament of Confirmation. Training and easy to digest lesson plans/outlines are provided. Please reach out to the YYAM department for more information or to sign up as a volunteer.

Adult volunteers who are working with children are required to fulfill all Protecting God’s Children components, including attending a safe environment program (VIRTUS), prior to beginning their work.

For More Information Contact:
Amy Hodson: ahodson@stannebarrington.org
Doreen Sobeski:  dsobeski@stannebarrington.org | 847-620-3072