In the 21st century, you may be surprised that catechisms still exist. You may think of catechesis, a medieval method of teaching truths about the faith through questions and answers, as mainly a Catholic thing. But I’m happy to tell you that catechisms, which have a deep history in the protestant church (especially the Westminster Catechism and the Heidelberg Catechism), are still alive and well.
In 2017, Crossway published the New City Catechism, developed by pastor Tim Keller’s Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City. This series of 52 questions and answers is a great way to introduce kids or adults to most of the fundamentals of the Christian faith. It also has an app with musical versions of the text that you can jam to in the car. We have enjoyed it a lot. You can check it out at newcitycatechism.com.
Probably my kids’ favorite question and answer is #48 – What is the church? The answer: “A community elected for eternal life and united by faith, who love, follow, learn from, and worship God together.”
I was blessed to grow up in First Christian Church. I knew it during different seasons of the life of the church. But I always knew it as a community – a place where I could know and be known. Moving back here several years ago, I was excited to join with you all on the journey to love, follow, learn from, and worship God together. From our toddlers to our Silver Sneakers, we are a diverse group, but by God’s grace we have all been elected for eternal life. And though the winds of change blow through our world, our country, our state, and even our county and our town, we remain united by our faith.
In 1986, I remember our church celebrating its 150th anniversary. The theme was “Part of Forever,” and you may still see one of the mugs with purple butterflies in different places around the church. When I moved back to Pittsfield in 2013, I started praying about what our church would be like in 2036 for our 200th anniversary. I pray that we will remain a community elected for eternal life and united by faith, who love, follow, learn from, and worship God together.
Zack Boren
Elder