In my opinion, one of the most enjoyable parts of our young life together as a parish has been our three "terms" of adult catechesis. We've spent some 20+ weeks gathering together to move "further up and further in" to the "faith once for all delivered to the saints" (Jude 3).
We've done some Anglican Church history, considered the "Anglican" way of thinking theologically, walked through the whole of the Apostle's Creed, almost all of the Lord's prayer, and this Fall will be turning to The Sacraments and the Ten Commandments. Then we'll do it all again, because we're studying the catholic faith, from which we never graduate or advance past!
We (I?) have also been enjoying a bit of a pause in our gatherings for catechesis this month. And it's been good to slow things down a bit in general as we get going again this Fall.
As we move toward resuming adult catechesis, however, I wanted to reiterate what we're attempting together - what we mean when we say and do catechesis, and what we don't! To wit:
What is catechesis?
Catechesis is another word for “teaching,” specifically of the Christian faith. As long as the people of God have been a people, it has been the case that the faith is one that is learned. Catechesis is one of those words that is used by most (though not all) Christian communities, but can be (and is) used in different ways.
For example, “catechesis” in some of the Christian communities of which I have been a part simply means memorizing a (typically very long) series of questions and answers about the faith. In these settings, catechesis pretty much meant a growing familiarity with a series of propositions, and their proof texts, about God and things relating to God.
This is not what we mean at All Souls.
What we mean when we say catechesis is a form of teaching and learning that, while certainly informative, is aimed at an encounter of a persons heart—the very core of their being—with the Truth, Goodness, and Beauty of God.
It is learning that is intended to give rise to contemplation, teaching that invites a community to “see” how the world and individuals within it are in fact enveloped by God: the one true God who has joined himself with his people in Jesus Christ, who is no one and nothing if not the personal embrace of divinity and humanity in time and space.
Our goal for catechesis is the internal shock of recognition and awakening of desire that is the result of any encounter with real Truth, Goodness and Beauty. In other words, we are aiming at an encounter with God, by his Holy Spirit.
True catechesis is a means by which faith, hope, and love—what it means live as Christian—are awakened and deepened.
These are, of course, lofty aims that will surely not always be achieved. But it is important to note that any failure to be drawn up into the Glory of the Christian account of the world in catechesis is a defect not of the story itself, but of the catechist, who is, alas, me.
Grace and patience are required in all things, not least this. But to succeed is to be confronted with the thrill of God’s very self.
Who is catechesis for?
Everyone!
If catechesis is what we want it to be, this means that it is not “Sunday School” or a class, easily subdivided into beginner, intermediate, and advanced sections. God is not a subject to be mastered.
Instead it is an invitation to move further up and further in to the mystery of God and his saving work in the world. We never graduate from “learning” the faith—indeed we cannot—and so this is a venue for everybody, even the non-Christian.
When does it start?
We'll resume catechesis on 9/22, from 7:15-8:45 pm at 1101 Bainbridge St. See you there!
More soon,
Danny+