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Cloud of Witnesses

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us…”  (Hebrews 12:1)

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The confirmands will share a brief biography of a disciple of Jesus Christ with their fellow students.  We are looking for a 3-5 minute presentation of a person previously approved by Pastor James.

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The time for the presentation is limited.  As a result, please focus on the person's faith.  The confirmands can make this a group project and use any medium for their presentation.

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The church has resources to help.  Don’t hesitate to ask.  We are not “grading” confirmands on their research skills or writing ability.  We want them to see others' faith in action.

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Suggested biographies…

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  • Hildegard von Bingen (1098–1179, Germany) — A Benedictine abbess, mystic, composer, and polymath whose theological visions and musical works made her one of the most influential Christian thinkers of the Middle Ages.

  • Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906–1945, Germany) — A Lutheran pastor and theologian who opposed Nazism, helped lead the Confessing Church, and was executed for resistance against Hitler.

  • Norman Borlaug (1914–2009, United States) — An agronomist whose work on high-yield crops sparked the Green Revolution and saved hundreds of millions from starvation.

  • Corrie ten Boom (1892–1983, Netherlands) — A Dutch Christian who helped hide Jews during the Holocaust and later testified worldwide to forgiveness after surviving a concentration camp.

  • John Calvin (1509–1564, France) — A principal Protestant Reformer whose theology profoundly shaped Reformed Christianity and Presbyterian traditions.

  • Chuck Colson (1931–2012, United States) — A former Nixon aide who, after imprisonment for Watergate crimes, became a leading evangelical voice on faith, ethics, and prison reform.

  • Francis of Assisi (1181/82–1226, Italy) — A medieval saint who founded the Franciscan movement and embodied radical poverty, humility, and love for creation.

  • Joan of Arc (1412–1431, France) — A peasant girl who led French forces during the Hundred Years’ War, claiming divine guidance, and was executed as a heretic before later canonization.

  • Martin Luther King Jr. (1929–1968, United States) — A Baptist minister and civil rights leader who led the nonviolent struggle for racial justice in America.

  • Eric Liddell (1902–1945, Scotland) — An Olympic gold medalist who became a missionary in China and died in a Japanese internment camp during World War II.

  • Pope John Paul II (1920–2005, Poland) — A long-serving pope who played a major role in the fall of communism in Eastern Europe and shaped global Catholicism in the late twentieth century.

  • Madeleine L'Engle (1918–2007, United States) — A novelist best known for A Wrinkle in Time, who integrated Christian theology, science, and imagination in children’s literature.

  • Hannah More (1745–1833, England) — An evangelical writer and reformer who worked for education, abolition, and moral renewal in eighteenth-century Britain.

  • Alexei Navalny (1976–2024, Russia) — A Russian opposition leader and anti-corruption activist who became the most prominent critic of Vladimir Putin’s regime.

  • Watchman Nee (1903–1972, China) — A Chinese Christian teacher and church leader whose writings shaped indigenous Protestant movements despite long imprisonment under communism.

  • John Newton (1725–1807, England) — A former slave trader turned Anglican priest and abolitionist, best known for writing the hymn “Amazing Grace.”

  • Nicholas of Myra (c. 270–343, Greece) — An early Christian bishop famed for generosity and compassion, later inspiring the legend of Santa Claus.

  • Rosa Parks (1913–2005, United States) — A civil rights activist whose refusal to give up her bus seat helped ignite the Montgomery Bus Boycott.

  • Patrick of Ireland (c. 385–461, Roman Britain/Ireland) — A missionary bishop credited with spreading Christianity throughout Ireland.

  • Pandita Ramabai (1858–1922, India) — An Indian scholar, Christian convert, and social reformer who advocated for women’s education and welfare.

  • Jackie Robinson (1919–1972, United States) — The first African American to play Major League Baseball in the modern era, breaking the sport’s color barrier.

  • Hans Scholl and Sophie Scholl (1918–1943 and 1921–1943, Germany) — Siblings and members of the White Rose resistance who were executed for distributing anti-Nazi leaflets.

  • Harriet Beecher Stowe (1811–1896, United States) — An author and abolitionist whose novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin galvanized opposition to slavery.

  • Mother Teresa (1910–1997, Albania) — A Catholic nun who founded the Missionaries of Charity and devoted her life to serving the poorest of the poor.

  • Susanna Wesley (1669–1742, England) — The mother of John and Charles Wesley, whose disciplined piety profoundly shaped Methodism.

  • William Wilberforce (1759–1833, England) — A parliamentarian and evangelical Christian who led the campaign to abolish the British slave trade.

  • Louis Zamperini (1917–2014, United States) — An Olympic athlete and World War II prisoner of war who later became a Christian evangelist emphasizing forgiveness.

  • A relative

  • Anyone with prior approval.

 

As soon as you know who you will be presenting, contact your mentor, parents, Evan, or Pastor James

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