Diocesan Supported Confirmation for Young People

Diocesan Supported Confirmation for Young People is an opportunity for young people around the diocese to engage with each other in Confirmation preparation.

What would Diocesan Supported Confirmation look like and offer?

• Online group gatherings & independent study for participants

• Facilitated by Catechists trained in the curriculum in a diocesan-wide format

• Additional resources and support for parishes to support the young people in the process, including training for parish based confirmation mentors

• 10 key areas of focus and built-in retreats

• Flexible Confirmation service options

• The first cohort is slated to begin in the fall of 2022 and finish in the spring of 2023

• Small fee per student

For more in depth information and to view the slides from the March 9th introductory zoom, click HERE.

Catechists for the 2022-2023 Cohort

The Rev. Lisa M. Erdeljon serves as Assistant to the Rector for Pastoral Care at St. Philip’s Episcopal Church, Southport, Born and raised in Virginia, she served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in the country of Georgia after college and before discerning God's call for ordained ministry.

Her first call, after seminary, was as Curate/Associate Rector for Christian Education at St. Michael’s Episcopal Church in Barrington, Illinois, where she served for almost 4 years before coming here.

Mthr. Lisa finds God most often when chopping vegetables and cooking, running or paddling outside, exploring the looks and sounds of a new area, and simply sitting with her dog Bedi (pronounced Bed-EE). She tries to do yoga every morning, and spends a lot of her time at home in quiet—hoping she might hear something from God that she hasn’t heard yet.

Hannah Hutchens is serving as the Assistant Director of Camp Trinity in the summer of 2022. Hannah grew up at St. Timothy's in Greenville and was always an active member of Youth Ministry Programs in the Diocese of East Carolina. She served on Camp Trinity Staff all four summers during college.

Following graduation from ECU, Hannah spent a year in the Episcopal Service Corps in Baltimore, Maryland. After her year of living in intentional community was up she became the Director of Christian Formation and Community Engagement at Redeemer Episcopal Church in Baltimore. At the onset of COVID-19 lockdown, Hannah returned to Greenville to care for a dying member of her family.

Buddy Payne is the Associate Camp Director for Camp Trinity in Pine Knoll Shores, NC. He has served in this capacity for nearly 10 years after having served as a Camp Trinity staff member after high school. In between his time as summer camp staff member and Associate Camp Director, Buddy served as the Director of Youth Ministries at 1st Presbyterian Church in Morehead City, NC.

Buddy grew up in Swansboro, NC at St. Peter's by the Sea and is a parishioner there. Buddy calls Camp Trinity his spiritual home, saying "my time as a camper and staff member allowed me to develop and grow my faith. My hope as a Lay Professional Catechist is to learn and grow together in our faith." When Buddy isn't on property at Trinity Center you can likely find him out fishing for speckled trout in the fall.

Questions? Contact: Emily Gowdy Canady, Missioner for Lifelong Christian Formation