5th March 2026

County young people front and centre in new church video series

A new Confirmation video course produced by The Church of England in Lancashire (Blackburn Diocese) that puts young people front and centre has successfully launched across Diocesan communications channels.

‘Confirmed: Rooted in Faith, Growing in Christ’ is a free course to guide the County's young people through the process of getting confirmed.

The series consists of three short films designed for use as part of a course in parishes and particularly for young people prior to their confirmation; although the videos are also suitable for anyone of any age who is thinking about getting confirmed and wants to find out more about Confirmation. There is also a promotional video trailer for the course here.

In The Church of England, a Confirmation Service is a significant moment where a person publicly confirms the promises (vows) that were made on their behalf when they were first baptised; marking their personal commitment to follow Jesus Christ.

The videos feature young people from parishes across Lancashire and Rt Rev Philip North, Bishop of Blackburn; Rt Rev Dr Jill Duff, Bishop of Lancaster and Rt Rev Dr Joe Kennedy, Bishop of Burnley. They come with a Leader’s Guide featuring activities, discussion questions and a prayer response to accompany each film.

The young people in the video are, Luke, 12; Joshua, 10; Lola, 12; Annabelle, 12; Talitha, 12; Erin, 13 and Awesome, 12 and they come from across Lancashire, specifically Preston, Blackburn, Heysham, Morecambe, New Longton and Darwen.

The full resource (videos and Leaders' Guide) along with further information can be accessed for free via the link here and dozens of parishes have already done so.

‘Confirmed: Rooted in Faith, Growing in Christ’ was initially developed by Rachel Gardner, from Blackburn Diocese Children and Youth Network and Rev Mike Print, from the Diocesan Growing Leaders Team.

The films were subsequently shot in one day at Bishop’s House in Salesbury by digital communications staff from the Diocesan Offices – Heather Lee, David Harris and Kaitlyn Rose, alongside Matt Dobie, from Blackpool Church, St John’s.

Further support to ensure filming went smoothly on the day came from other members of the Diocesan Board of Education team including Director of Education, Iain Parks and Diocesan Youth Adviser, Ben Green.

The whole series had its premiere in front of the young people who were involved and their families alongside the Bishops and others involved in the project recently at Bishop’s House in Salesbury in the Ribble Valley.

A fun evening included the young people being shown the three videos on cinema-style screens. Everyone had their own bingo card where they had to spot key moments during the films.

Rachel Gardner said: This exciting resource, designed to help churches explore both the practical process and the rich theology of confirmation, has been created with young people and for young people.

“Their voices, questions and experiences have shaped every stage of the project, making it a truly collaborative piece of work rooted in the real lives of those preparing to say ‘yes’ to God.

“Churches across Lancashire are growing younger and more diverse. We’re excited to see how this will support our churches across the Diocese in their mission among emerging generations.”

Bishop Philip added: “It is so important we prepare candidates well for Confirmation in our Diocese and parishes are free to use these new videos in whatever way works in their own context. Some groups will use them across three sessions, others will have one long session where everything is done in one go.

“Our hope is that, as well as bringing together the central themes of Confirmation, our candidates will also get to know the bishop who is confirming them as they watch the course and so make their Confirmation even more special.”

Captions for the above pictures, top to bottom:
Pictures taken by Heather Lee for Blackburn Diocese

1. The young people from across Lancashire who participated in the ‘Confirmed’ video series have fun during a break in filming at Bishop’s House near Salesbury
2. A scene from one of the videos in the ‘Confirmed’ video series featuring Bishop Philip and the youngsters who participated
3. Behind the scenes during filming of the ‘Confirmed’ videos at Bishop’s House in Salesbury