St C's Inquirer's Class, Notes #1

Last Sunday, we began a 4 week Inquirers' Class at St C's.  I am posting notes for 1) the people who be joining us late next week, 2) the regulars who would like the resources all in one place, and 3) the curious people who are just short of being curious enough to come.

In session #1, we introduced ourselves (name and what one song you would want on a desert island), and we took a couple of minutes to write down questions we hoped the class would address.  In order to encourage even simple, honest questions, I shared the following video by Father Matthew Moretz about the sign of the cross, how to do it, and why.



Then we named the three goals of the course, which you can read on the handout (below), before getting to the meat and potatoes of the four weeks: the Chicago-Lambeth Quadrilateral.  (Exciting, I know.)  Far from being a document with an imposing title, we discussed that this is really two city names and four points.  Moreover, we observed that these four points are what Anglicans have traditionally understood as being at the heart of the faith we have received.  We read the document through, observing its foundation in Jesus' prayer in John's gospel, and pausing between paragraphs to ask and answer questions.

Finally, I read the group's questions back to the group and left the group with this homework: Counting the prayer book as ending just before the psalms (which are not original to the Book of Common Prayer), what is at the center of the BCP?

We'll pick up there next Sunday!