Looking Ahead: New Catechesis Task Force Sets out to Create 140+ Page Catechism

In September 2011, the College of Bishops realized the importance of building a body of people who are continually discipled through a process that is equipped with teachers and ultimately results in baptism and confirmation. Thus, they looked to the Catechesis Task Force, which had been formed in conjunction with the Anglican Church in North America, to create a Catechumenate in which Christians are made, instructed, equipped and sent out in a mission to spread the Gospel. This committee, comprised of church leaders from across the Province, set out to create a process by which those who do not know Christ, as well as those who do but want to learn more, can have access to the tools and knowledge that will make them passionate disciples.

The Ancient Church relied heavily upon the Catechumenate process, typically taking one to three years to bring pagans into the Church. Similarly, the Task Force recognized that our society was undergoing a paradigm shift and becoming increasingly post-Christian. From this, a vision was born to create a printed document totaling over 140 pages with 300 questions and answers, explanatory sections, material for catechists and new sections dealing with subjects that have not been touched on before now.

“We believe in embracing a process which leads people through conversion, making passionate disciples,” said Father Lee Nelson, Rector at the Church of Saint John the Evangelist in Stockton, CA, and co-chair of the committee. “Incidentally, the research shows us that churches that have this kind of process are growing and making a bottom-line impact for the Kingdom.” Read more

The new Catechism of the Anglican Church in North America is reportedly modeled upon the Catechism of the Roman Catholic Church, not the "Long Catechism" of Alexander Nowell, the Catechism of Thomas Becon, the 1662 Prayer Book Catechism, and other historic Anglican Catechisms . It is further evidence of the unreformed Catholic direction in which the Anglican Church in North America is moving.