Yesterday we celebrated the Presentation of the Augsburg Confession in which the various Lutheran territorial leaders confessed their “pastors’ and preachers’ teachings” as well as their faith on the basis of Holy Scripture. This commemoration—in many ways the most important commemoration for the evangelical-catholic reformatory movement of the church—calls us to think about how we […]
Rhoda’s First Adventure at a Lutheran Camp – Part 3 This will be my final installment of my first experience at a Lutheran camp (as the keynote speaker at the LCMS Northwest District Youth and Family Ministry Conference, held at Camp Lutherhaven, Coeur d’Alene, Idaho). My apologies to CAMP LUTHERHAVEN! I have been using the […]
Rhoda’s First Adventure at a Lutheran Camp – Part 2 Yes, my first experience at a Lutheran camp (as the keynote speaker at the LCMS Northwest District Youth and Family Ministry Conference, held at Camp Lutherhaven, Idaho) was so enriching that I’m sharing a second installment. The opening worship included a rite of thanksgiving for […]
Last month I (Rhoda) had the privilege and joy of serving as the keynote speaker at the LCMS Northwest District Youth and Family Ministry Conference, held at Camp Lutherhaven in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. The theme of the conference, “Formed,” was a great opportunity to introduce some of the resources Kent and I have promoted through […]
This past week brought this 7 week catechumenate course to a close. With some regret for me personally, because I can no longer, as I tell me students, be the apostolate for the catechumenate—at least to them in the course. But I can in this blog post toward you. In this last reflection I’ll highlight […]
Throughout the 7 week catechumenate course—which comes to a close next Thursday— I have tried to expose students to primary ritual experiences and the methods of Bible study that introduce catechumens to the biblical metanarrative centered in the Lord Christ Jesus. We have experienced the rites of acceptance, election, and baptismal thanksgiving, the latter this […]
The last two weeks of my catechumenate class we have focused on the history of conversion and the catechumenate in the church and conversion from the divine side. Alan Kreider’s The Change of Conversion and the Origin of Christendom has facilitated the exploration of this history emphasizing the intertwining elements of believing, belonging, and behaving […]
Last week I took a hiatus from blogging on the catechumenate course I am teaching at the seminary. The last three class periods, however, have provided some “eye-opening” moments. It’s not surprising that an experience that leads catechumens to the revelation of the mysteries of the rites of initiation should pop with eye-opening moments. In […]
Back from July 15-August 20, 2021 Rhoda and I ran a series of blog posts on Diana Macalintal’s aptly titled book published by Liturgical Press in Collegeville, Minnesota. Macalintal is one of the founders, along with her husband Nick, of TeamRCIA.com, A Roman Catholic group promoting best practices in the Rite of Christian Initiation of […]
At the conclusion of our introduction to Part I of our book Journey to Jesus, Rhoda and I write: “A visit to each of these four congregations on a Sunday would reveal differences in styles of worship, preaching, and communal expressions—all part of the contextualization of the ministry in these disparate congregations. But they share […]