In previous posts we gave attention to the role that the study of the Scriptures plays in the various stages of the catechumenate. It entails less focus on information and learning what Christians believe and a much greater focus on hearing and reflecting on the Word of God and exploring the questions about Jesus, faith, […]
The package arrived a couple of weeks ago; clearly, it was a book, but I had no recollection of ordering a book from IVP. It was with great delight that I discovered I had received a pre-publication copy of Lay Me in God’s Good Earth: A Christian Approach to Death and Burial, by Kent Burreson […]
When I was in Germany 37 years ago the wall dividing West and East Berlin had not yet come down. We visited East Berlin, going through Checkpoint Charlie. One of the things I remember about East Berlin was the drabness of East German and Soviet construction: bland, grey building after bland, grey building. When I […]
Last week Rhoda presented us with a picture of her standing in an ancient Ethiopian cruciform font, that, as she noted, is still in use! It was clearly a deep enough font for submersion, that is, the complete submersing of the body under the water during baptism. As with Rhoda, I was recently traveling, but […]
Last week’s blog featured the Church of St. George, part of the monolithic churches in Lalibela. Also of interest are the churches and monasteries on the islands and peninsula of Lake Tana, the largest lake in Ethiopia and source of the Blue Nile River. The churches, said to be built on “earlier religious sites,” date […]
Today’s banner photo is a baptismal font from Bete Amanuel (House or Church of Immanuel), one of numerous monolithic churches in Lalibela, Ethiopia, named for King Lalibela (r. ca. 1181-1221).
Notre Dame de Reims Cathedral has a rich history of martyrs, bishops, and royals. As part of the Roman Empire, there is evidence of a Christian presence in Riems in the middle of the third century. The first church on the present site of the cathedral was built around 400 by St. Nicasius (Nicaise), a […]
Kent has passed the blogger’s baton to me (Rhoda) for the month of July. Having just returned from travels in Europe (where Christianity is waning) and Ethiopia (where Christianity is flourishing), I’ll be sharing some of my pilgrimage experiences, reflecting on baptism, Christian formation, and the presence of Christ in and through the church now […]
Throughout the course over the last two years two issues have surfaced repeatedly: immediacy of baptism and implementation of the catechumenate. Some brief observations on both of those issues. Certainly, the desire for immediacy of baptism with adult candidates reflects the priority of the gospel and the gifts that God gives in baptism. We want […]
Two-thirds of the way through this half semester course—as students were preparing to make their presentations on various aspects of the catechumenate—the revelation popped into my head that I had used few experiential pedagogical elements in the course. What a sucker-punch self-critique of my pedagogy this was. Why? For at least two reasons, first because […]