The Second

Last night was the second RCIA class at St. Rita's. We decided to go through this process at this particular church based on it's reputation for having a very strong and solid RCIA program. So far it has been pretty good... very Christ centered, very welcoming, and very community oriented. I am looking forward to the coming months of relationship building and getting connected.

What I am not looking forward to is going through the "basics of the faith." We had a taste of it last night and it was all I could do to stay awake. It is necessary to go through, necessary to teach, necessary for spiritual formation, but man is it dull.
I am probably in a bit of a unique position regarding all of this. Most likely, I am the only ordained protestant minister in our class, one of a couple who have a degree in theology, and probably the only one who has been a full time missionary and minister. Not that any of this makes a difference, it just means I have been so inundated with the basics of the faith (i.e. who is Jesus? what is the resurrection? what is baptism? etc...) that I can answer these questions in my sleep. It's what I have been trained to do and have been paid to do for almost 10 years. That is why when we joined the Episcopal church we got to skip all of their classes, well that and I was preaching at my church when the classes were held!

That makes this particular part of the RCIA process pretty boring.

I am looking forward to hearing the stories of the other folks in the class and listening to their questions and comments regarding these key aspects of the faith. I am sure that the Lord will teach me and speak to me through their words and experiences.... I'll just make sure to sit at the back of the class and not distract anyone else while I look at soccer scores on the phone during the lecture! Just like college. Gotta love it. I am also looking forward to the later months and retreats that are part of this process.

How the hell did I learn anything in school, anyway?

Christ have mercy.