Baptismal Mystery and the Catechumenate

Book Overview

No Synopsis Available.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0898691826
• ISBN13: 9780898691825
• Release Date: January 1990
• Publisher: The Church Hymnal Corporation
• Length: 167 Pages
• Weight: 0.92 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.8" x 0.8" x 6.5"

Customer Reviews

A good collection

To a certain extent, this book is a bit dated. `The Baptismal Mystery and the Catechumenate' is a compilation of papers presented at a conference in 1988, in response to a General Convention (of the Episcopal Church) directive toward developing catechumenal rites. The results are now incorporated in the Book of Occasional Services, the book of additional authorised services not found in the Book of Common Prayer in the Episcopal Church.Despite the dated nature of the book, it contains essays by some `heavyweights' in theology, liturgy and biblical studies: L. William Countryman (New Testament professor at CDSP), Aidan Kavanagh (sharing his perspective from the Roman Catholic rites of similar nature), Gail Ramshaw (a Lutheran scholar), Richard Norris (of Union Theological Seminary), Michael Merriman (of Grace Cathedral, San Francisco), Roger White (bishop of Milwaukee), Walter Geuttsche (a rector in Houston), and Robert Brooks (with professorial and parish background). Part of the drive to develop the catechumenate came from Associated Parishes, whose overall drive for renewal and reform in the church also helped serve as a catalyst for the Book of Common Prayer revision, whose final form was introduced in 1979. These are rites whose introduction took time (and indeed, continue to be adapted) - this book presents the issues and general framework, but not a set timetable or even a set programme. Much is done to make this a productive process for parish and individual, that it not be rushed, and that it really be a process of formation and reception rather than a one-time event. In a church where many people are baptised as infants (thus experience no particular formation prior to baptism) or come in as already-baptised converts, the place for the unbaptised convert was rather unclear. The essays look at different key issues - timing, the role of the community and the particular members in the community, how catechesis differs from religious education, how scripture informs the process, and how this connects to the world outside the church walls. Perhaps the best line of the entire book comes from Robert Brooks' article on Post-Baptismal Catechesis (which could well have been subtitled, now what?) - `The catechumenate is the model, and it's about formation, not about information.' This is the key to the entire process - it isn't what you know or when you know it, but being formed by a process of culture and education that incorporates in a somewhat mysterious way (this is akin to the process by which many denominations - at least in theory - educate and form their ministers).The information in this book is still useful and valid, and worthwhile reading for those who seek more insight into this process which brings people into fuller expression of their membership in the Episcopal Church. It is also useful for ministers in training to see how issues are dealt with in different ways. It is a product of the more ecumenical times in the Epis