What Do Presbyterians Believe?
A Chance to Learn More
On Sunday, September 20 at 10:00 a.m., the Adult Sunday School Class will begin a six-week series on basic Presbyterian beliefs. Our focus will be the Study Catechism that was adopted by the Presbyterian Church (USA) in 1998. A catechism is a statement of faith in question-and-answer form. Catechisms have long been used by various groups of Christians, especially for teaching the faith to young people in confirmation classes. They are helpful, however, to any new church members, church officers, and anyone wanting to look carefully at the most important things the church believes.
You may have heard of the Westminster Shorter Catechism that forms part of our Book of Confessions. You may even have learned to recite some or all of it:
"Q. 1. What is the chief end of man?
A. Man's chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever."
(That's about all that most of us remember!) But, the Westminster Shorter Catechism is NOT what this series of classes will be about.
Instead, we will be looking at this NEW, contemporary catechism. It was produced in three forms: a First Catechism for young children, one for use in confirmation classes, and the Full Version for use with adults. We will use the Full Version that comes complete with Biblical references. This version can be downloaded for free, in .pdf document form, from the Presbyterian Church (USA) website. The address:
http://www.pcusa.org/theologyandworship/confession/biblical.pdfIf you have trouble downloading the catechism, let the church office know and we will help you get a copy. The catechism is also found in book form in the Book of Catechisms: Reference Edition, published by Westminster John Knox Press and available from
Cokesbury.
If you can, please get a copy of the catechism and bring it with you when you come to class, and read questions 1 through 10 before the first class on September 20. Bring your own questions, comments, observations, complaints, etc. Make notes on your copy of the catechism. Highlight or underline what you think is particularly interesting or puzzling or annoying or inspiring.
Fellow learner Alan Meyers will facilitate our study. Alan would be happy to talk to you about any questions about it.
See you on September 20?
