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By Ron Foster
Special to the UMConnection

'This is so much fun - it?s not like real church!'

Those were the words of one young person who joined more than 500 people for Bethesda UMC?s 'Confir-Mitzvah' celebration on Pentecost Sunday.

Standing before the congregation to profess their faith and claim their place in the community, the 27 youth comprised the largest confirmation class in 25 years at the church.

The celebration, which attracted family and friends from near and far, combined some of the best of pop culture and religious traditions. The worship service included a slide show of the confirmands 'then and now' (with baby and current pictures), a music-laced message encouraging the youth to claim an 'iPod faith' for themselves, and upbeat music from the BUMC Praise Band.

The confirmands were presented with multicolored youth versions of 'The Message,' which had been donated by members of the congregation, along with custom flip-flops emblazoned with the church?s mission statement, 'Wash More Feet' on the strap and the words, 'Get Dusty' on the soles.

The flip-flops were a take-home reminder to the youth to follow Jesus so closely that they would 'get the dust of their rabbi on their feet.'

The spirited worship service was just the beginning, however. Following worship, the confirmands, their friends and families walked a few blocks down Old Georgetown Road to the Anastasi Room at the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Rescue Squad where close to 300 people danced, laughed and ate the afternoon away to continue the celebration.

'Because of the area we live in, so many of our kids have been to three, six, or 10 bar and bat mitzvahs with their friends and some of the parties are amazing,' said Amee Fansler, the church?s youth pastor. 'We?re not trying to compete with that. We can?t. But we do want our youth to know that confirmation is a big deal, too, a significant rite of passage.'

So two years ago, the church moved from a punch and cake reception to a party with a DJ following church in the Fellowship Hall, said Fansler.

This year with so many confirmands, the church had to move to a larger venue, she said, 'so that each of our youth could invite six friends to come. We brought in a DJ who was great for both the kids and their parents - part of the fun was watching the adults get out there on the dance floor - and California Tortilla catered the party. The families of the confirmands covered the costs of the entire celebration. The kids had a blast, their friends came in great numbers and the whole day was designed to make them feel special.'

Sara Foster, who was part of the class, couldn?t stop talking about confirmation for the last six weeks. She was so excited that she made up nice invitations for her friends, worked hard to do all of her memorization and had some fellow class members over the day before for a pre-confirmation breakfast.

The day was both a wonderful affirmation to the youth about how much the church values them and also a great outreach to their friends. Who knows? Some of those teens may be back.

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For more information, contact Amee Fansler, youth pastor of Bethesda UMC, at or (301) 215-9819.