FormingLutherans

I, Rhoda, also had the joy of presenting at a breakout session at Best Practices Ministry last week. After a brief presentation that began with the “grim statistics” of the decline in church membership in recent decades, moved to the need for adult faith formation, and zipped through a quick summary of the stages of the adult catechumenate, my formal presentation ended with brief descriptions of three models for small group reflection on Scripture. Common to all three is use of the Gospel texts from the three-year lectionary. The focus on Gospel readings in these small groups introduces those unfamiliar with the Bible to the person of Jesus – not doctrines or teachings about Jesus – but the stories of Jesus, what he said and did.

Searching Scripture, Finding Jesus I, Rhoda, also had the joy of presenting at a breakout session at Best Practices Ministry last week. After a brief presentation that began with the “grim stat

Although it is (apparently) an urban legend that the origin of the carol "The Twelve Days of Christmas" stems from a time when Roman Catholics in England (16th to early 19th centuries) were not allowed to practice their faith openly, we're featuring the modern legend on today's post. The carol was purportedly written as a catechumenal song to teach youth Catholics about their faith, with each gift holding the hidden meaning of a Christian truth. As critics have pointed out, the 12 "hidden meanings" are shared by Christians across denominational boundaries; there is nothing distinctive to Roman Catholicism in them, and the hypothesis is rather recent. Nevertheless, I find the "hidden meanings" a lovely way to christianize an otherwise secular "carol," especially since the celebration of Christmas by those for whom it is a secular and cultural holiday ends on "the second day of Christmas."

Here are the 12 hidden meanings:

- The Partridge in the pear tree is Jesus Christ.

Celebrating the Twelve Days of Christmas Although it is (apparently) an urban legend that the origin of the carol "The Twelve Days of Christmas" stems from a time when Roman Catholics in England (16th

Thank you, Concordia University, St. Paul, for this opportunity!
Earlier this week Concordia University, St. Paul hosted a book event to celebrate the publication of Journey to Jesus as a resource for the church. I had the “opportunity to thank publicly a host of people who helped bring this book to birth,” from my co-author, Kent Burreson—who had a vision for conducting research on the adult catechumenate and who invited me to join him in this project—to the student worker, Madi Patrow (now a DCE graduate serving in a congregation in the Twin Cities area) who “transformed my scribbled, chaotic interview notes into pages of order and beauty” (the quotations are from my comments at the event).

In addition to my public thanks to many, I also shared a bit about the book itself and our goals.

Professor Schuler in the Library with the Book October 10 2025 Professor Schuler in the Library with the BookRhoda SchulerBlog, Speaking Engagement, Thanksgiving Catechumenate 0 Earlier this week Concordia University, St. Paul hosted a book event to celebrate the publication of Journey to Jesus as a resource for the church. I had the “opportun...