Interfaces for Church Distance - A Response to Wolfgang Ilgs Reflections on Transitions in Confirmation Work

In Germany, there are confirmation classes for Protestants aged 13 to 14. In these classes, the connection to the church should be strengthened. For those already closely connected to the church, interfaces as Sunday schools or special internships during confirmation classes help to strengthen the commitment to the church. For church distanced adolescents, we need a wider view. Those will (a) experience baptisms, weddings and funerals at church; (b) they will raise existential questions and (c) they will participate in local activities, where the church is included. Confirmation classes can help to develop competences in these fields, give the youngsters space for their own ideas and foster experiences of a stable parish community. Against this backdrop, even those adolescents with less emotional ties to the church can be motivated for later encounters.

Confirmation class, interface, occasional services, ultimate questions, church distanced people