Rite-13
The Journey to Adulthood
Six years of spiritual formation that
provide a liturgical framework for the teenage experience of modern culture
celebrates young people’s individuality and their creative potential
offers training in some basic life skills needed for adult living and interaction
Based on two key concepts:
Manhood and Womanhood are free gifts from God
Adulthood must be earned
Includes in-depth exploration of:
Self
Spirituality
Sexuality
Society
Enables young people to discover and experience the love of God
Provides sacred space for teens to question, wonder and work on their relationships with God and with each other
How does it work?
Christian formation is a lifelong process; this program gives young people a firm foundation on which to build. The program falls into three distinct phases, each of which is two years in length: Rite-13, J2A (Journey to Adulthood) and YAC (Young Adults in the Church).
Rite-13
The first two years of the program is called Rite-13, a name that comes from a liturgical rite of passage we celebrate with the young people around their 13th birthday. This rite is loosely based on the bar/bat mitzvah tradition and is a way for the entire congregation to celebrate the unique gifts and abilities of their young men and women. The Rite-13 program assists young people as they begin to take the first steps of independence from their families into their own lives. During these two years, the community acknowledges the gift of gender, celebrates the amazing creative power and potential of these young people, and creates a safe haven in which to explore new ideas, new interests and new abilities.
The two years of Rite-13 are fun. While serious matters are addressed, we’ll play a lot of games, laugh a lot, learn a lot, and maintain a lighthearted approach. The goal is to build community, establish trust and safety, and remind young people that this is their church, and that they are safe and welcome within it.
J2A
The second two-year segment is J2A – an acronym for the Journey to Adulthood. It may seem a little confusing for this second phase to have the same name as the entire six-year program, but this section was the first piece developed and many young people find that the bulk of their formational work gets done in these two years. In many ways, the J2A years are the heart of the entire program. During the J2A phase, teens learn and practice six basic skills for adulthood:
active listening
negotiation
assertion
research & information management
partnership
leadership
In addition to the skills listed above, teens learn different methods of Scripture reading, prayer and community-building. After two years, they are acknowledged as being equipped for new levels of responsibility and are given an opportunity to be confirmed (in denominations that have confirmation) They are also invited to make a holy pilgrimage.
YAC
The last phase, Young Adults in Church (YAC), encourages older youth to take on more adult responsibilities – both in their church and in their community. They are challenged to become good stewards of their time, talent and treasure. They work on identifying their gifts and commit to a specific ministry that uses those gifts. They study some of the church’s ancient creeds and then write their own statement of beliefs. They look back on what they have studied, learned and experienced over the last six years and use that as a basis for their own growing spirituality.