Pilgrim is a teaching and discipleship resource that helps
inquirers and new Christians explore what it means to travel through
life with Christ. A Christian course for the twenty-first century,
Pilgrim
offers an approach of participation, not persuasion. Following the
practice of the ancient disciplines of biblical reflection and prayer
with quotes from the Christian tradition throughout the ages,
Pilgrim
assumes little or no knowledge of the Christian faith. Individuals or
small groups on the journey of discipleship in the Episcopal tradition
can use
Pilgrim at any point.
There are many different aspects to helping people learn about the
Christian faith. We have taken as our starting point Jesus’ summary of
the commandments. We are called to offer our lives to God through loving
God with all our mind, soul, strength, and heart, and to love our
neighbor as ourselves. Learning about Christian faith and growing in
Christian faith is about more than what we believe. It’s also about the
ways in which we pray and develop our relationship with God, about the
way we live our lives and about living in God’s vision for the Church
and for the world.
There are two stages of material in
Pilgrim. There are four short
Pilgrim
books (each comprising a course of six sessions) in the Follow stage
designed for those who are enquirers and very new to the faith. Then
there are four short
Pilgrim books (again, each comprising a
six-session course) in the Grow stage designed for those who want to go
further and learn more.
Pilgrim is made up of two parts, each with four courses contained in four booklets:
Follow: Do you turn to Christ? Releasing in March 2016
1. Turning to Christ
2. The Lord's Prayer
3. The Commandments
4. The Beatitudes
Grow: Will you continue in the Apostles’ teaching and fellowship? Releasing October 2016
5. The Creeds
6. The Eucharist
7. The Bible
8. Church & Kingdom
Each course offers six sessions that combine a simple prayer, reflection on a biblical selection using
lectio divina, an article by a modern writer, and reflection questions.
The short courses in the four Follow
stage books can be
approached in any order. Together, we believe they offer a balanced
introduction to the Christian life and journey. Our hope and prayer is
that
Pilgrim will help to introduce people to the Christian Way
and also equip them to live their whole lives as disciples of Jesus
Christ. It will help inquirers and those new to the Christian faith as
well as those who are new to The Episcopal Church or Episcopalians who
wish to refresh and renew their learning commitment to Christ.
The aim of the Grow stage is to help people to learn the essentials for a
life of discipleship. A disciple is to be called to live in a rhythm of
being with Jesus in community and to be sent to live out the Christian
faith in the whole of his or her life.
Disciples need the support of other Christians and to be part of a
community. We need opportunities to reflect and pray together and to
explore the riches of our faith. The
Grow stage supports that
process both for new Christians and for those who have been Christians
for many years. Some groups who use the Grow material will be moving on
from the
Follow stage of
Pilgrim. Some will be specially convened just for this stage.
Component descriptions:
Leader Guide
The
Pilgrim Leader Guide has lots of helpful material for those who are leading any
Pilgrim
group. A single guide covers all eight booklets and gives an overview
of the program as well as a process of how to lead a group of youth or
adults in discussing the material. This is an essential tool for anyone
who wishes to offer any portion of
Pilgrim in a small group, whether in church, school, or home.
