Our post-Christian era has awakened the PC(USA) to the missional dimension of the church, illustrated by the action of the 211th General Assembly (1999), declaring the United States to be a mission field. Many adults are now coming to the church with little prior knowledge of the Christian way; therefore, we need a thoughtful, intentional process of welcoming them to baptism. Though the PC(USA) is blessed with a rich and complete service of baptism in the Book of Common Worship, our churches suffer from the lack of a well-defined process through which we can welcome new Christians into the community of faith. Cultural shifts in the last quarter century have produced a situation in which Christians are being inadequately formed by prevailing models of Sunday school and new members-classes alone.

Church members, both new and old, need guidance in disciplines of scripture reading and prayer, and they need a structured environment in which to reflect on faith as they grow in their relationship to Christ.

In the late 1960s, the Roman Catholic Church recovered an ancient model of baptismal preparation from the early centuries of the church. Known as the catechumenate, or the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA), this model sets adult seekers in relationship with Christians of mature faith and then gathers these seekers and mentors into groups which engage in regular scripture reading, prayer, and mission. As they are engaged in this process, the seekers are also intentionally incorporated into the life of a worshiping community through particular acts in congregational worship, until they are ultimately welcomed into the church at baptism. Several Protestant churches are now benefiting from local adaptation of this process. We Presbyterians have yet to take an official step in this direction, but we believe God is calling us to recover through practice the rich and purposeful ecclesiology expressed in the catechumenate.

In 2001 the Office of Theology and Worship gathered a small study group to read and discuss the history and theology of the catechumenate in relation to the Reformed tradition. In 2002, with the help of a grant from the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship, the office expanded its efforts by working with ten pilot congregations willing to learn more about the catechumenate model and to experiment with it locally. In choosing congregations, we have sought out pastoral and lay leaders who celebrate baptism with integrity, and who are willing to commit themselves to learn and grow and be changed. We sent two-person teams (a pastor and a member from each of the ten pilot congregations) to a catechumenate training event early in the year. We then asked them to reflect on and experiment with their learning from that event in their particular contexts. In the fall of 2002, all teams will attend a gathering at which their experiences and reflections can be shared with each other and with the Catechumenate Study Group. As part of the process, each team will submit a brief paper reflecting on the training event they attended and the ways they have tried to incorporate their learnings into the life of their congregation. In this way, we hope to learn more about particular issues permeating the catechumenal process in the Reformed tradition. We also hope to foster a network of churches that are committed to baptism as a fundamental mark of Christian identity and that welcome new Christians into discipleship with integrity and enthusiasm.

In addition to exploring ways that the catechumenate might be a promising model for incorporating adult Christians into the church, the Office of Theology and Worship will be asking what implications this model has for the following areas:

• Infant baptism. The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has a heritage of infant baptism, which raises theological and pastoral questions regarding the catechumenate. We have strong theological commitment to the baptism of infants, rooted in the radical priority of God's grace. Yet many of our churches evidence a casual attitude in sacramental practice by baptizing children of members (or relatives of members) who have minimal church affiliation and exhibit little intention of raising their children in the faith. This dilemma presents us with the need to consider appropriate formation for parents presenting children for baptism. We hope that our project will reveal a path to guide churches in a recovery of baptismal integrity that is rooted both in the practice of an adult catechumenate and an accompanying reclamation of pre-baptismal catechesis for Christian parents seeking the baptism of their children.
  
• Baptized uncatechized adults. A second issue we hope to address in this project concerns the formation of adults baptized as infants who have experienced no subsequent church involvement. In what ways could we adapt the catechumenal model to form them in faith without compromising the dignity of their baptism?
  
• Confirmation. A third question for our project concerns the relationship of the catechumenate to confirmation. Most PC(USA) churches welcome young people into a full membership upon profession of faith in adolescence, but this process often has little relationship to baptism. In what ways could the catechumenate be adapted to form young Christians in faith and bring them to a reaffirmation of baptismal vows that integrates them fully into the life of the church?

If you are interested in learning more about our work in the catechumenate, please contact Tammy Lloyd at (888) 728-7228 x5331.