I recently had a conversation with Pastor Daniel Eggold about his experience introducing an adult catechumenate at his current parish, Grace Lutheran Church in Lafayette, Indiana. Key to his vision was doing—not talking about—Christian practices. As he said, “Instead of talking about Bible study and the importance of it, we just do it; instead of […]
We have a Readers’ Group at my congregation and we just finished reading The Fellowship of the Ring, the first volume in J.R.R. Tolkien’s trilogy The Lord of the Rings. Hobbits are a very contented lot. Change is not something in which a hobbit believes. Adventures and journeys lead Hobbiton to question the character of […]
Two weeks ago (forgive us for the week hiatus) we entered a new series focused “Where to begin with initiating catechumenal practices in your congregation.” I (Kent) offered some insights from the Roman Catholic RCIA about beginning a catechumenal process. Central to those insights was that the catehumenate is about transformation, the transformation of a […]
This week we begin a new series entitled, “Where to Begin?” Where do you begin if you are planning to initiate an adult catechumenal process in your congregation? I believe the Roman Catholics have some insights to offer Lutherans. They have been at this for a while with the renewal of the Rite of Christian […]
In our recent workshop on the adult catechumenate, we stressed the importance of creating small groups to build community and foster an environment for seekers to ask questions and to respond genuinely to biblical texts. The research of Anna Clare Creedon (Do Small Groups Work? A Study of Biblical Engagement and Transformation, London, SCM Press, […]
As we prepared for our July workshop on Adult Faith Formation, we included three timeslots to present different approaches to Scripture meditation and study designed to engage “inquirers”—people who may have little knowledge of the Christian faith and content of the Bible but who, through the work of the Holy Spirit, have expressed an interest […]
An often asked question about the catechumenate is, “Where can I find a curriculum for the catechumenate?” While from the perspective of efficiency it would be desirable to have a curriculum that could fit all places and circumstances that desire works against the nature of the catechumenate. While some Roman Catholic dioceses do provide catechetical/doctrinal […]
Last week, Rhoda reflected on the Rite of Baptismal Thanksgiving that participants at our two workshops experienced. In addition, we celebrated two rites that punctuate the catechumenate at points of transition: the Rite of Welcome/Acceptance and the Rite of Election/Enrollment. We also participated in a prayer experience during the Period of Inquiry. We experienced these […]
“When I heard the sound of the water poured from the pitcher as the words were being spoken, the memories from the abundant use of water from the videos we watched flooded my mind.” “I experienced the prayer time at the end of the service more intensely than I usually do.” I warned the […]
Two weeks ago I (Kent) ventured to a small town—Ottawa, Kansas—in the heartland of the United States. This is a quintessentially American place: a small town with one main street running through it, the heartbeat of the town’s corporate life. These towns were, and in certain ways still are, the heart and soul of American […]