Catechesis is not just about right teaching, it is a cultivation of a living faith within the community of the Church. Christian faith and theology are performed in the sacramental, communal, and missional life of the Church, and catechesis is an invitation into this lived reality. This book explores the nature of catechesis and how catechesis within our churches can shape the Christian community into an instrument of renewal in the world through the formation of holy living. It argues that the future of catechesis in the life of the Church is to be found in this holistic discipleship, and explores this holistic vision by examining catechesis in its relationship to Christian worship and liturgy, the teaching of doctrine, mission and social action, evangelism, preaching, communal life, and the sacraments.
Jarred Mercer, formerly a chaplain, postdoctoral researcher, and member of the Faculty of Theology and Religion at the University of Oxford, is Rector of St Paul’s Episcopal Church in Newburyport, Massachusetts.