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.
Pilgrim is made up of two parts, each with four courses contained in four booklets:
Follow: Do you turn to Christ?
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 August 2016
5. The Creeds
6. The Eucharist
7. The Bible
8. Church & Kingdom
Each course offers six sessions each that combine a simple prayer, reflection on a biblical selection using lectio divina, an article by a modern writer, and reflection questions.
There is also Pilgrim Leader Guide which is an essential tool for anyone who wishes to offer any portion of Pilgrim in a small group, whether in church, school, or home.
Course 4. The Beatitudes: The Beatitudes are a short but profoundly beautiful and influential collection of sayings by Jesus. They sum up his teaching about what it means to live as a child of God's kingdom. This course believes that following Jesus requires us to engage with this important text, so that it is restored to a central place in the life of the Church. We believe that the Beatitudes, and trying to live them out, is one of the best ways of loving God with all your heart and understanding the Christian vision for the world.
Pilgrim: The Beatitudes will help those new (and not so new) to the faith make sense of these essential but challenging sayings of Jesus in concrete, practical ways. The scripture-centered lessons are structured to encourage honest, thoughtful conversation and present the radical nature of the Beatitudes without demonizing the culture in which we are called to live them. A particular blessing awaits in each week's "Sending Out" materials: a short but inspiring selection of Christian writings drawn from a broad range of ancient and modern teachers of spiritual wisdom.
—Kyle Matthew Oliver
Digital missioner and instructor, CMT@VTS
Lead curator, e-Formation Learning Community
