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Formational Reading of Scripture Series

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Today we wrap up the Formational Reading of Scripture Series by reviewing briefly each of the three “methods” of Scripture study commonly used in adult faith formation settings—African, Luther’s Four Strand Garland, and Visualization. Drawing on Understanding Faith Formation: Theological, Congregational, and Global Dimensions by Maddix, Kim, and Estep, Kent introduced this series by highlighting key aspects of “formational reading” (95-96). These goals described in Understanding Faith Formation are worth repeating; such reading …

  • Allows the biblical text to master the reader
  • Forms a humble, receptive approach to the Scriptures
  • Expects an openness to mystery (especially of God) as encountered in the text

The African Method of Scripture Study

This method works particularly well in the first two stages of the catechumenal process, the stages of Inquiry and the Catechumenate. Kent wrote that the African method “exposes inquirers and catechumens to the Word of God in a non-threatening and inviting way. It facilitates an encounter with the Word in which becoming familiar with God’s self-revelation in Christ Jesus is at the center.”

The biblical text is read three times with a different question/prompt for reflection and sharing in the group. These prompts are designed to lead the participants to “ponder in their hearts” the words of Scripture; to hear God speaking to them through Scripture; and to see Jesus in light of their daily concerns and needs. Blog readers can review the method with the “prompts” for reflection and sharing here.

Luther’s Four-Strand Garland Method

Kent wrote: “In contrast with the African method, this method begins to expand more fully into the life of prayer and into the discipled life of the Christian.” Thus, it would be most fitting to use this method in the second or third stages of a catechumenal process, the states of the Catechumenate and Enlightenment (or intense preparation).

The four strands of the garland are instruction, thanksgiving, wholeness/confession, and presence. I wrote, “The first and fourth strands, instruction and presence, begin and end the study by listening for God’s voice and resting in the assurance of God’s presence. These strands anchor the entire method in God’s grace, God’s initiative toward us—God is speaking to us, calling to us; God is present with us always, whether we realize it or not. The inner strands call us to respond to God’s grace, first by inviting us to be thankful for what God has done, and then by training us to examine ourselves, identifying our ‘woundedness’ and ‘sinfulness’ brought forth by the biblical text; the confession … [draws] us toward wholeness and healing, toward dying to self and rising in Christ, and into a closer relationship with God. To review the complete description, click here.

The Visualization Method

As Go Make Disciples indicates, “The point of visualizing a passage is to help members of a group see the word of God as it is: lively, active, and speaking to their lives here and now. They might find themselves in a character of the story or in several characters. They might picture truths about their own lives that are illuminated by the acting out of the story” (141-2). Because this method works best when there is some knowledge and awareness of the Scriptures and a sense of community is taking shape in the catechumenal cohort, it functions particularly well in the stages of Enlightenment and Mystagogy.  This method recognizes that the creative process can make a deep impact on learning for many people. As the “riskiest” of the three methods, it calls for the leaders to trust the creative work of the Spirit through the power of the proclaimed Word. To review the steps in the visualization method, click here.

To close, consider these words of St. Paul, “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ” (Romans 10:17 ESV). Each of the three methods is anchored in hearing the Scriptures and are designed so that the biblical text masters the reader (not vice versa), forms a humble, receptive approach to the Scriptures, and expects an openness to mystery (especially of God) as encountered in the text.

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Formational Reading of Scripture: Methods of Studying the Word

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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, and the church that seekers and catechumens pose. This type of reading and exploration of Scripture is often called formational reading of Scripture. As the book Understanding Faith Formation indicates, formational reading transforms the reader by the influence of the Word of God mediated through the lived encounter with the text by the power of the Holy Spirit (94).

As part of the general approach of the catechumenate for forming disciples who live by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, formational reading aims to transform the lives of those encountering Christ in the church’s life. Formational reading is described by Understanding Faith Formation in the following ways:

  • The objective is not to cover as much material as possible
  • Formational reading is deep
  • Allows the text to master the reader
  • The reader is shaped by the text
  • Forms a humble, receptive approach to the Scriptures
  • Expects an openness to mystery (especially of God) as encountered in the text (95-96)

Since the reintroduction of the catechumenate with the RCIA in the 20th century, three primary approaches to study of the Scriptures have proven effective among Lutherans (and other Christians) as methods of formational reading: The African study method, the Luther method, and the Visualization method. All three forms are easily adaptable and can be contextualized to any given congregation. For example, instead of focusing on the lectionary readings, especially in the early stages of the catechumenate, some congregations focus on the Word as it is encountered in the worship experience of the church, through the liturgy.  Liturgical texts and actions become the primary encounter with the Word upon which these study methods focus. Over the next 8 weeks we will consider these three primary study methods and how they can be used to shape a formational reading of Scripture in a congregation’s catechumenate and in its life together.

One of the results of the catechumenate is that it builds community and incorporates newcomers into that community. Establishing such a formational reading approach to encountering the Word of God will form the community around the Word, with the Word at the center. It will lead the explorers and catechumens to fall “in love with the Scriptures” and to make it a daily part of their contemplation of and encounter with Christ (Macalintal, Your Parish is the Curriculum, 75) through their corporate life together in Jesus.

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Christianity in Ethiopia

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The long history of Christianity in Ethiopia begins with the account of Philip and the Ethiopia eunuch (Acts 8:26-40). Ethiopian Orthodox Christians claim to be one of the earliest nations to embrace Christianity when King Ezana, leader of the Kingdom of Aksum (located in the northern part of the modern state of Ethiopia), embraced the Christian faith in the fourth century. The church was strengthened by the arrival of “the nine saints” from Syria (frequently depicted in churches’ iconography) in the 5th century.

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). According to legend, after a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, King Lalibela received a vision to build a “new Jerusalem,” and this complex of churches, carved out of mountains, was the work of the king with assistance of angels. While twenty-first-century Christians may approach this hagiography of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church with skepticism, one can say that King Lalibela’s decision to create these amazing structures indicts strong devotion to the Christian faith.

The most spectacular of the Lalibela churches is the Church of St. George, which, like the baptismal font, has a cruciform structure. Again, putting aside one’s skepticism about the story of their origins, the structures themselves communicate the core witness of the Christian faith—that Christ’s death on the cross has accomplished the salvation of the world, and a person is assured of that salvation by being joined to Christ’s death and resurrection in baptism (Romans 6).

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Sources used:
“Ethiopian Church” in The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, 3rd edition
“Ethiopia” in Encyclopedia of Ancient Christianity
“The Rock-hewn Churches of Lalibela,” https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/lali/hd_lali.htm
Photos by Rhoda Schuler, June 2024

Lent 1- Rite of Election (112)

Catechumenate Disciple Making: On the Way in the Mission

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The 1st characteristic of mDNA that Alan Hirsch discusses (but the 4th in our series of blog posts) is disciple making or discipleship. This is what the catechumenate aims at: to form disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ and of his Father. So how does Hirsch define discipleship? “Following Jesus and becoming increasingly like him (Christlikeness)” (The Forgotten Ways, 41). Obviously, we cannot be exactly like Jesus since he was the Logos, of one substance with the Father, sent by him to take on the flesh of God’s creatures. For Hirsch, in his humanity Jesus provides the image of the true human. In Jesus, we discover what true and faithful “creatureliness” looks like. So to be a disciple, to model Jesus, means through and in him truly to become the creatures God intended us to be.

Since this is God’s mission in his Son—to make us into the true, faithful humans God intended—as Hirsch says, “We never move from being a disciple on the way” (103). The Word is always forming us into sons and daughters of the living God through the one true Son, Christ Jesus. This kind of discipleship—formation into being sons and daughters—runs counter to the ways in which we usually today incorporate people into the church’s life. We often do not expect much transformation from them or any substantial change in their behavior, or even in their beliefs. In current patterns, incorporating them into the church involves primarily the intellectual assimilation of ideas. Discipleship is much too easy. This kind of approach simply acquiesces to the religion of consumerism and moves the church into an attractional mode of mission. Make the church attractive (and God too) so that people will want to invest in the church, even if they are not really expected to change.

Hirsch’s vision of discipleship within the church’s mission entails “An actively Christlike (redemptive) presence in every neighborhood and every sphere of life” (114). This demands that in the world disciples “live our truths” and “express the message authentically through the media of … [our] … personal and common lives together” (114). Living our truth—the life and mission of the Triune God—demands change, because our old lives don’t reveal that truth. Such transformation into living reflections of the true humanity of the Lord Jesus is the foundation of the believability of God’s mission. It provides the compelling witness that is the vehicle for the church’s transfer of the gifts of God in Christ to others.

The catechumenate aims to form this kind of discipleship in the lives of the catechumens. The intentional, lengthy, ritually focused, and community embedded formation of the catechumenate embodies the gospel and gospel-centered life in the catechumens. It is a lived integrity. The catechumenate operates on the principle that disciples are acting their “way into new ways of thinking,” living, and belonging (122). This is why mentorship is so important to disciple making. The church has to model this way of acting. Central to the catechumenate is such modeling in the form of sponsorship.

Because of such embodied and enacted disciple formation in the catechumenate, there is a visible and palpable consistency between the message and the messenger, the gospel and the disciple. It produces disciples who understand that for the rest of their lives they are on the way toward God’s kingdom. From that moment forward, they are participants in inviting others to join them on that way to discipleship. As Hirsch says, they are “Active participants in the mission Dei” from the moment they join the catechumenate (119). From the outset, these catechumens becoming disciples are “hitting the road with Jesus” (120).

Leaders meeting

Welcoming the Stranger: The Catechumenate in the Small Town

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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 life.

But the challenges for church life don’t stop at the interior rings of urban areas or the outer rings of suburbia. In many ways, certain challenges are common to all the places where the church lives. Declining participation, lack of identification with a denominational tradition, increased apathy toward organized religion, congregations that are simply trying to survive, declining numbers of ministers and church workers, and the drag on the energy and activity of a small number of overcommitted laity. Such challenges can be true in urban New York just as well as Ottawa, Kansas.

These challenges elicit questions such as: What are we doing to engage the community in relationship-building? Do we have a plan for sustaining assimilation into congregational life of those we encounter outside the walls of our church? We are doing lots of things and are engaged in lots of programs but is any of that really effective at reaching the strangers to us in our community? Do we have any vision for adult faith formation into the gospel and our congregational life?

These were the kinds of questions raised by the pastors and laity who gathered at Faith Lutheran Church in Ottawa. The welcome I received was truly warm and hospitable. The fellowship between congregations, pastors, and laity was uplifting. That makes it abundantly clear that the relational resources exist in these congregations to sustain active engagement with the stranger and formation that leads to discipleship in the context of these congregations’ corporate lives.

What they were searching for was a way to structure, organize, and energize the congregation’s life toward the outside. And during our three days together they experienced and reflected on means of encountering the stranger, fostering discipleship, reflecting on the Word of God, sustaining ongoing catechesis, and a rich ritual life that facilitates an encounter with the gospel and transitions new disciples toward faith-filled and faithful life in Christ. I pray that the Spirit’s breath through the Word experienced and reflected upon in our time together in Ottawa will bear much fruit as these congregations engage with welcoming the stranger into congregational life.

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Slow Walking: What Exactly IS the WAY?

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Continuing our series slow walking our way toward changing our adult faith formation practices, this week we focus on what exactly the WAY is. I will use descriptions throughout this post from Paul Hoffman’s Faith Forming Faith, the primary book anyone considering reforming their adult instruction should read before embarking on that journey. As Hoffman notes, “The WAY offers people an apprenticeship into faith in Christ, ” an apprenticeship model rather than an information download model. It engages an apprenticeship into the WAY of faith and life in Christ. This is why Phinney Ridge Lutheran in Seattle, Washington, where Hoffman was pastor for many years and developed the use of a catechumenate model for exploring the Christian faith and life, called their catechumenate the WAY. It is a process, or even better a journey, with and into the Word of God (especially through the lectionary), in relationship to everyday human life. For this reason, as Hoffman notes, this journey/way/process is both rich and messy. It is rich, because life is rich. But it is also messy, because life is messy. It is rich, because Scripture is rich.  But it is also messy, because Scripture is messy (7). Much like the story of Zacchaeus in Luke’s Gospel, the intersection of God’s grace and mercy with earthly riches and those who possess them, politics and human engagement with it, and life in human community where motivations and relationships are not sin-free, is a very rich and messy affair. This is no less true in our day and in our relationships with one another and the unbaptized than was the case in Zacchaeus’ day.

The WAY has stages (based on the ancient catechumenate) that structure a person’s journey through it: Inquiry, Catechumenate, Baptismal Preparation, and Baptismal Living (Mystagogy). These stages simply provide leaders a guide for the journey. But people move through it in uniquely singular ways. The priority here is to oversee and facilitate their journey on the WAY to the one who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. And that happens by building Gospel and Christ-centered relationships between those inquiring about Christianity and the community of those who bear witness to the one who is the Way.

While the WAY is certainly focused on the transformation of the lives of those inquiring, it even more fundamentally seeks to transform the Christian community itself, in the WAY newcomers are planted at the center of congregational life and purpose. The established members of the congregation all turn their attention toward bringing these newcomers into the assembly and commit to do whatever it takes to provide a path for them to enter into Christ in the assembly. Planting newcomers at the center embeds the dying and rising pattern as the central way of understanding the shape of a congregation’s life. This process is about congregational transformation, not some program for welcoming new members. And this simply flows from our watershed baptismal event because from that day on the people of God in Christ are never not in formation until our baptism is completed in our death. We are constantly dying and rising, both as individuals and as congregations. Death and resurrection is the pattern of the WAY, and of congregational life. And the WAY enacts that transformation in congregational self-understanding and life. As Hoffman notes, “The WAY’s gift is first and foremost the assurance that baptism is incorporation into a community of Christ. This community continues to struggle, doubt, question, and discern how the ancient words of Scripture and the Spirit of the resurrected Jesus among us equip us for witness in the world” (14).

The WAY transforms both those inquiring about the Christian faith and the assembly that is tending to their inquiry because it flows from the baptismal spring. As Hoffman indicates in his second book, Faith Shaping Ministry,

“Offering baptism and affirmation of baptism to newcomers in our parish as an intentional practice has transformed most, if not all, aspects of our ministry. Like water running over rock, the grounding of our faith and life in the waters of baptism has slowly but irrevocably shaped who we are and how our parish life is organized. And, like water running over rock, the shifts in our community of faith were gradual, every now and then punctuated by a more substantial shift like the kind that comes when rocks are washed about the creek bed after heavy rain…But here’s the goal: that every activity of parish life flow out of and back to the font” (xv-xvi).

That is the WAY, everything and everyone flowing from and back to the baptismal waters.

Prof Insights

Workshop Cancelled

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Our Forming Lutherans Concordia Seminary Prof Insights Summer Workshop exploring the benefits of adult catechumenal faith formation at Faith Lutheran Church in Hunstville, Texas, August 15-17 has been cancelled due to low registration. Please continue to follow FormingLutherans.org and our blog for information about future catechumenate experiences.

Easter Vigil 2019 (25)

A Ritual Journey: Formation in Enlightenment

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This post, focusing on formation in the Period of Enlightenment and Purification, will be the last in this series on the ritual journey through that period of the catechumenate. Formation in this period is in a pronounced way liturgical. That means that the liturgical experience through the various rites that we have discussed over the previous weeks is the primary context in which formation and catechesis toward a life of faith takes place. For the elect the shape and knowledge of the Christian life that is taking shape should flow from and be referenced to the liturgical and ritual experiences they encounter. This ritual formation leads the elect into the Word; walking with the Lord in the church through the liturgical year; into hearing and praying what the church believes (the Creed); into being formed by what the church prays; into the nature of living the Christian Way of life; into catechesis embedded in ritual; and into an apprenticeship into the church’s mission. Let me provide a brief description for each of these.

Formed by the Word

The proclaimed and written Word permeates the liturgical celebration. Many of the rites are ritual enactments of or encounters with the Word. The elect encounter Christ, the personal Word, as these Word-laden rituals strike them. And those liturgical encounters inform and guide their ongoing reflection upon the Word.

Walking with the Lord through the Liturgical Year

The encounter with the Word occurs in the context of the liturgical year. So the biblical narrative focused upon the revelation of the One sent from the Father full of grace and truth and who as Lord will pour out His Spirit on all living things surrounds the rites of the period. Each Sunday’s Word within the year’s arc provides the primary point for catechetical reflection on the Christian faith.

Creedal Formation (praying what we believe)

The texts of the rites throughout this period are intended to inform Christian faith and belief. They convey the basic narrative of the rule of faith/creedal story. The ritual texts and actions bear this narrative and shape the Christian to live by faith according to it.

Formed by the Church’s Prayer

Prayer permeates all the rites in this period. It is prayer that reflects the biblical narrative and that prays for the elect to confess and live under the lordship of Jesus Christ in their lives.

Living into the Body of Christ and the Christian Way of Life

The enlightenment journey leads the elect to experience the life of the Body of Christ and the reconciling way of Christian life. The rituals reveal Christian practices that are intended for daily Christian living and sharing in the church.

Catechesis embedded in Ritual

Catechesis doesn’t arise out of textbooks or curriculum. It springs forth from the liturgical experience within the gathered community. As Diana Macalintal says, “The Parish is the Curriculum.” The life of the parish ultimately forms the elect into living as disciples of the Lord Jesus.

Apprenticeship in the Church’s Mission

Finally, the liturgical journey of the elect apprentices them into the church’s mission. When shaped with intentionality and purpose the rites of the entire catechumenate mold the newly baptized into being witnesses to the Word and as those who pursue God’s justice in their vocations and relationships.

St. JOhn Sunday liturgy

A Ritual Journey: The Stage of the Catechumenate

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Over the last several weeks we have explored in detail the Rite of Welcome/Rite of Acceptance into the Order of Catechumens. Once the inquirers cross this ritual threshold they enter into a new status in the church. They are now officially catechumens, intentionally committed to exploring the faith of the church and life within the Christian community that will lead to baptism. The catechumenate period, which ideally would last 6 months to a year, allows a much deeper exploration of the gospel and Christian faith than the Stage of Inquiry. It is a holistic immersion in the faith that intersects the catechumens’ lives with the Word of God, worship, prayer, the church’s ministry in the gospel and its service in the world. It explores not only the assembly’s life in faith but Christian life beyond the assembly in the world both near and far. As Ronald Lewinski says in his book An Introduction to the RCIA the catechumenate stage “gives reason to faith and enables [the catechumens] to live by faith in the world” (36).  One of the primary agents for facilitating this holistic immersion are the catechumens’ sponsors. They walk with them throughout the process, attending as many catechumenal activities as possible, and serve as partners in reflection on the gospel and the way of Christian life that flows from the gospel.

Reflection is a central aspect of the catechumenate stage. The catechumens’ reflection on the meaning of faith in the gospel and its implications for life begins with listening to the Word. As the Rule of St. Benedict says one should “Listen with the ear of your heart.” This implies an in-depth exploration of the meaning and significance of the Word of God. Hearing the Word and reflection on the Word is the heart of the catechumenate stage. Every gathering of the catechumenate should focus on the Word. Ideally, the weekly lectionary and the church year serve as a focal point for forming the catechumens into the Christian way. This provides a rhythm, grounded in the gospel readings, for reflection on the gospel and faith. This rhythm may include dismissing the catechumens after the service of the Word each Sunday to discuss the readings just heard. Or it may include focusing on the readings, especially through the lens of the gospel, in midweek gatherings. Pastors, catechists, and sponsors facilitate reflection on the meaning of the Word and its significance for the daily life of the community and of the catechumens now immersed in that community.

And the Word cannot be contained just to the Sunday assembly and reflection on it. The Word should permeate the entirety of the assembly’s life: worship, prayer, ministry, teaching, fellowship, service, and mission. The catechumenate stage brings the catechumens into engagement with the Word as it is heard and gives shape to all the varied areas of parish life. This is why, as we noted in a previous post, Diana Macalintal refers to the parish as the curriculum of faith formation. Catechumens should be exposed to the ways in which the Word interpenetrates the entire assembly’s life. This will initiate the catechumens into God’s mission through the congregation. It will allow them to “see” God’s mission in motion beginning in worship but stretching out through the parish’s life in service to one another and in witness to the world.

Like the Word, catechetical teaching permeates the catechumenate stage. It thoroughly introduces the catechumens to a host of catechetical and doctrinal topics. Yet, those topics should be grounded in the Word that the catechumens are hearing from Sunday to Sunday. In other words, the Word in the weekly assembly and permeating congregational life should prompt the kinds of topics taught and reflected upon in catechesis. As Ronald Lewinski says of catechesis, “The object of catechesis is communion with Jesus Christ. Catechesis leads people to enter the mystery of Christ, to encounter him, and to discover themselves and the meaning of their lives in him” (37).

And just as the Word permeates congregational life, so does conversation with God or prayer. The catechumenate stage is a mentorship in prayer for the catechumens. They should be formed toward a life of prayer and taught how to pray. Prayer, perhaps encapsulated in brief rites or devotions, should begin and end each catechumenal gathering. And sponsors ideally will model a vigorous life of prayer with their catechumens. Developing fellowship centered in prayer and the Word also encourages regularly eating a meal together whenever the catechumens gather.

The end of the catechumenate stage leads to the crossing rite of Election/Enrollment for Baptism. Each catechumen, their sponsors, the catechists, and the pastors navigate a path of discernment as to when each catechumen is ready to cross the threshold with the intention of preparing for baptism. It is important for each person to take as long as is necessary for them to be ready to cross that threshold.

Until that point there are practices and rites throughout the catechumenate that form the catechumens on this journey. We’ll explore those practices and rites in subsequent weeks.

Redeemer Giving of Candle at Baptism 2019

A Ritual Journey: The Rites of Faith Formation

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This week I am beginning an ongoing exploration of the rites of faith formation. In order to explore the rites that can be used as a central experience of faith formation, I need to outline the structural process of the catechumenate. So, for those for whom this may be an elementary review, my apologies. As a holistic experience of faith formation, the catechumenate employs a variety of things to facilitate conversion and form the life of faith, all of them experiential in nature: individual mentoring, small group discussion, acts of service, lecture, reflection, journaling, corporate and personal prayer, fellowship (especially over meals), shadowing the baptized, preaching, and ritual action. Of the liturgical rites Roman Catholic priest Ronald Lewinski says, “These liturgical rites flow naturally from the spiritual formation and catechesis that is offered…. [They] are integral to the whole process of conversion and initiation” (An Introduction to the RCIA, Chicago: Liturgy Training Publications, 2017, 21). The liturgical rites mark a catechumen’s journey through faith formation as they gradually cross the threshold into life in Christ within the assembly of God’s people.

As I noted in a previous post, Diana Macalintal outlines two catechetical paths in faith formation that are interdependent but distinct: the Ritual path and the Catechetical path. The Ritual path is the formation that happens through the crossing of the various ritual stages that the catechumen experiences. They focus on the gradual transition of the person in terms of their order/place within the Christian community: from inquirer to catechumen to neophyte. Formation happens through the Word and ritual action in the liturgies of the church. The second path she labels the Catechetical path. This path is less structured and attends to the level of faith instruction in the Word that the individual person has received. A congregation ideally nurtures both paths in order to have a vibrant catechumenate.

The Ritual path is composed of four periods and three transitions between those periods. [Welcome to Christ adds one additional transitional rite near the end of the post-baptismal mystagogy]. I’ll use the terminology of both the Roman Catholic Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) and the Lutheran Welcome to Christ: Lutheran Rites for the Catechumenate (Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress, 1997), divided by a slash.

  • Period #1: Evangelization and Precatechumenate/Inquiry
    • Transition #1: Acceptance into the Order of Catechumens/Welcome of Inquirers to the Catechumenate
  • Period #2: Catechumenate/Inquiry [Welcome to Christ doesn’t distinguish precatechumenate and catechumenate periods]
    • Transition #2: Rite of Election for Initiation/Enrollment of Candidates for Baptism
  • Period #3: Purification and Enlightenment/Preparation for Baptism
    • Transition #3: Rites of Initiation at Easter Vigil: Baptism, Sealing (Chrismation/Confirmation), Lord’s Supper/Baptism and Communion at the Vigil of Easter
  • Period 4: Post-Baptismal Mystagogy/Baptismal Living
    • Transition #4: Affirmation of the Vocation of the Baptized in the World

That is the basic outline of the Ritual Path. In coming weeks I will examine the rites associated with each of these periods and rituals. If you are interested in a copy of a particular rite from one of the resources email me either through FormingLutherans.org or at burresonk@csl.edu.

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