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From Affirmation to Transformation: Our Journey

By Terry Martinez, JBL Board Member

“Our faith is formed by the practices that shape it.”

Our Pastor, the Rev. Dr. Christopher Q. James, was searching for ways to help a congregation recover its baptismal identity – never fully formed due to the diminishment of sacramental practice in the larger Presbyterian/Reform tradition. “I was committed to planning and leading worship that was centered around the font on a weekly basis. I wanted to help the congregation understand how its ongoing life is continually formed by these sacramental waters,” he said.

“The changes I was making in worship were important, but were not enough by themselves. I had heard about the Catechumenate for several years, but knew it was such a wholesale paradigm shift in the way we ‘do church’ that I was waiting for the right moment and prayed that I would recognize it when it came.” That time came in 2015 when a small leadership team was formed to explore the Catechumenate and see if this was right for our church. From this process THE JOURNEY was born!

We were surprised when 16 travelers signed up for the first session: further evidence that the time was right. Since then, we have offered five sessions of THE JOURNEY. 71 members have participated as a traveler/companion. Of those 71, 12 have become new active members of the life of New Hope and various ministries outside the church.

THE JOURNEY has transformed New Hope! We have become a stronger, nurturing and welcoming community. Our outreach and missions, both in New Hope and the church universal, are more meaningful. Most importantly, as the Rev. James puts it, “The Catechumenate has taught our congregation that not only is it okay to have questions about faith, but nurturing those questions in a safe and inviting space leads to deeper, stronger faith and deeper stronger relationships among one another.”

Asked if he would recommend the Catechumenate to other congregations, the Rev. James said, “The Catechumenate takes tremendous effort, time and patience. It’s messy. It is completely different from the way we are used to ‘doing church.’ It takes commitment to let it grow and to learn from it over the course of time. I would recommend it because it will change you. I would also be cautious to recommend it because it will change you.”

New Hope Presbyterian Church is excited to be hosting an Adult Catechumenate Training in October and sharing our stories with others. Click here for information on the training.

“THE JOURNEY is the most significant contribution I have helped to bring to our congregation in my 17+ years as its pastor. Of all the ways pastors work to equip and empower the members of the congregation for ministry, I believe THE JOURNEY has done so the most.” – the Rev. Dr. Christopher Q.  James

Catechumenate Training Changes Lives & Congregations: Stories from the Trenches

By Martha Maier, JBL:NAAC Board Member

From Skeptic to Believer

Pastor Linda Quanstrom was a skeptic about the catechumenate. But encouraged by her District Superintendent, who had recently joined her church, she rounded up a team to attend the catechumenate training held in Seattle, WA last fall. After the training she wasn’t sure the process would work in her modestly-sized urban congregation in Portland, OR. But nonetheless, with the support of those who attended the training, Fremont United Methodist Church gave it a try.

Before FUMC began the catechumenate, Linda figured that if two people went through the process, it would be a worthwhile venture. To her surprise, eight signed on as candidates, and another eight readily agreed to be sponsors.

Linda was surprised, but profoundly pleased by how well the catechumenate was received and the impact it had on her church. “I’ve confessed to my people that I above all others was ‘O ye of little faith,’ but I was moved, week after week by the commitment they demonstrated to the process, the stories they shared and the prayers they prayed for one another. Upon completion they asked that we organize covenant groups so that they and others could continue the journey of communal prayer and support.”

Quanstrom and others from her church believe this is such a significant process leading to essential and foundational spiritual grounding, that they gladly agreed to host a training this fall. As part of the event, they will talk more about how this process has impacted them and their church.

Role play impacts real life

Pastor Eric Peterson, a self-proclaimed “baptism nerd” found his people when he attended a catechumenate training event held Vancouver, B.C. several years ago. At this event, he experienced a condensed catechumenate process over the course of three days. At the final worship service where the “Affirmation of Vocation” rite was celebrated, he was asked to take the part of someone who had been baptized at the Easter Vigil.

He and the other participants gathered at the font and, without have given it much thought beforehand, he shared this simple statement of how he planned to express his baptismal identity vocationally: “My name is Eric Peterson. I affirm my gifts as a writer, and I dedicate myself to use words to the glory of God.”

Eric thought he was merely role-playing. But as he was driving home, he realized that “something may have happened to me back there.” He writes, “I spent the rest of the seven-hour trip absorbing an identity I had previously resisted, praying for the Holy Spirit to prompt me with what to write.” The result can be seen in Eric’s recently published book, Wade in the Water, from which these quotes came.

As many of us have realized, even when we think we are “role-playing” at the trainings, it can have a profound impact on our lives.

How has a catechumenate training impacted your life or your congregation? Share your response on our blog.

And you can sign-up now for our fall trainings: October 5-6 in Portland, OR and Oct. 25-28 in Ottawa, Ontario. More details and registration details are on our website.

The Catechumenate Leads to Personal & Church Growth

[cs_content][cs_section parallax=”false” separator_top_type=”none” separator_top_height=”50px” separator_top_angle_point=”50″ separator_bottom_type=”none” separator_bottom_height=”50px” separator_bottom_angle_point=”50″ style=”margin: 0px;padding: 45px 0px;”][cs_row inner_container=”true” marginless_columns=”false” style=”margin: 0px auto;padding: 0px;”][cs_column fade=”false” fade_animation=”in” fade_animation_offset=”45px” fade_duration=”750″ type=”1/1″ style=”padding: 0px;”][x_image type=”none” src=”https://journeytobaptism.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/51/2018/01/hearts.jpg” alt=”” link=”false” href=”#” title=”” target=”” info=”none” info_place=”top” info_trigger=”hover” info_content=””][cs_text]By Barbara Anderson, member, St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Seattle, WA

“The Spiritual Pilgrimage [St. Luke’s catechumenal process] was the catalyst that truly began my life in community with St. Luke’s and a major stop along my journey to baptismal living. I struggle with the winter and early spring time, the dark and cold makes it difficult to want to do anything, and the weekly gatherings when we ate together, shared together, and learned together gave me comfort and the space for important spiritual introspection.” ~ Julia Hunter

Julia’s message, printed in Sunday bulletins and our newsletter, along with announcements by our priest, produced a record thirty-some individuals who wanted to explore becoming either seekers or spiritual companions. Some two dozen chose to engage in the Sunday evening journey.

St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Seattle, WA has held a Pilgrimage from Lent to Pentecost for two years. After a multi-denominational catechumenate training was offered this year at Phinney Ridge Lutheran, a group of lay people who participated were inspired by the training and joined our Vicar Britt Olson to form a team for this year’s Pilgrimage.

We have only just begun, starting with the Welcoming of the Pilgrims during Sunday service, including their commitments and the signing of the cross on their bodies. The two most reluctant pilgrims each described feeling their lives changed by the ritual, and several of the spiritual companions were surprised to discover how deeply connected they felt to the people whose ears, eyes, hearts, shoulders, hands and feet they touched making the cross.

St. Luke’s Seattle has grown from an average Sunday attendance of fifteen to seventy in just three years. Our growth has been spiritual as well as numeric, propelled in part by our Vicar’s use of the Spiritual Pilgrimage for formation. Julia, whose words appear above, is a lifelong Episcopalian. The experience has been as important (and sometimes more important) for the many who come from other faith traditions. All have deepened their faith and strengthened their ties to the community of St. Luke’s.

The Pilgrimage experience has fed our congregation and made it hungry for continued, active involvement in our life of the Spirit.[/cs_text][x_share title=”Share this Post” share_title=”” facebook=”true” twitter=”true” google_plus=”false” linkedin=”true” pinterest=”true” reddit=”true” email=”true” email_subject=”Hey, thought you might enjoy this post from Journey to Baptism: “][/cs_column][/cs_row][/cs_section][/cs_content]

Flow of Love: Reflections on Richard Rohr’s Latest Book

By Elise Eslinger

During a recent Blue Ridge getaway weekend with my husband, to celebrate our wedding anniversary and his birthday, we were unexpectedly diverted onto a detour route. That bumpy road became a gravel pathway, probably an access road through that part of Pisgah National Forest! In the midst of our slow and winding drive through those beautiful yet unknown and unmarked environs, we came to a single-lane bridge which crossed a gorgeous, tumbling river stream and waterfall. We stopped, of course, and experienced with the living water before us a cherished moment together—remembering our baptismal identity and vocation with gratitude. That moment will be interwoven forever with birth and new birth and years of marriage and ministry together! The sight and sound of that gurgling stream of living water refreshed us as we later proceeded home to interruptive news of a large tree having been downed onto our roof by the severe thunderstorm while we were away!

The living flow of the waterfall and the experience of the aftermath of a severe thunderstorm both reminded me powerfully of my current reading in Richard Rohr’s wonderful new book, The Divine Dance: The Trinity and Your Transformation.* This is a rich, evocative exploration of new ways to think about and experience the Holy Three-in-One: as Flow, as a dance of loving relationship into which we are invited to participate. God-with-us, yes, and foundationally, God-for-us. Our baptismal identity in the risen, living Christ (and our particular vocations) flow from this Love and this Spirit-movement. The Trinity is not here imaged as a “triangle” but as an infinity sign—the Eastern Orthodox symbol for the Trinity! Yes, let’s do participate as catechumenal leaders and companions in that Divine Dance as we share personal and communal journeys—-to “live wet” within the Flow of Love for all God’s creation.

*The Divine Dance: The Trinity and Your Transformation. Richard Rohr (with Mike Morrell). Center for Action and Contemplation, Albuquerque, NM (cac.org), Whitaker House, 2016.

Elise Eslinger, D.Min is a Consultant in Worship, Music, and Spiritual Formation as well as a JBL:NAAC Board Member.