Tim Sledge finds the new Common Worship volume on Christian initiation to be a guide on the journey to a living faith

 If YOUR heart sinks when you hear of a new volume of Common Worship, don’t let that put you off Common Worship: Christian initiation. At the centre of it all is the question: how can we accompany people on a journey of discovery in a new faith so that they feel included in the Church?

The baptism and confirmation services are to be found here, with three groups of new resources:

• Rites on the Way — which mark significant moments on the journey to faith and of faith, at any age;

• The Rites of Affirmation — which offer a similar opportunity to renew baptismal promises; and

• Reconciliation and Restoration — which provide opportunities for corporate and individual expressions of penitence.

A member of the Liturgical Commission, Dana Delap, says that Rites on the Way constitute "a launchpad, a way to mark the transition-points on the journey of discipleship. It is not a discipleship course; it is liturgical resources to support whatever tools Churches are already using."

There is less new material here than there might seem to be at first glance. This volume aims, rather, at re-emphasising the central place of baptism in the Church’s life. There has been a theological shift: the thinking now is that baptism is more than a sign of membership: it is about a vocation — even an anointing — to the apostolic ministry of being and sharing good news through living Christian lives in community.

The Church is increasingly recognising that the Christian faith is not an isolated journey, but an accompanied journey of discovery into a living faith and a place within a worshipping community.

So this volume is a liturgical companion to "catechumenate materials" such as Alpha, Beta, Emmaus, Start, Christianity Explored, and others, which are used by about one third of Churches in this country. It is bewildering that about two-thirds of churches still don’t provide opportunities for this kind for nurture and discipleship.

These Rites on the Way could be used in a church that has a small group of enquirers. Many in the congregation may not know these people as well as other worshippers who have been coming to church for years. Using the Prayers to Welcome Disciples on the Way of Faith, for example, will make a connection liturgically.

One of the reasons why nurture courses are so popular is the recognition that many people have little or no Christian background or education. Most of the received liturgy of the Church has been based on the assumption of infant baptism and some Christian knowledge.

This material offers words and actions to initiate those of any age and background, and helps to make a connection between believing in God, belonging to his family, and behaving as disciples. It can bring some liturgical meaning to a discipleship programme.

"I have used these rites with children, young people, and adults; with parents bringing their babies to church for the first time, and with new disciples who come forward on the arm of their sponsor to declare their new-found faith," says Ms Delap.

One way to look at the material is as a series of permission-giving texts. The word that is used more than any other is "may". The material provides a wide variety of permutations and resources. And there is a welcome return to the meaning of liturgy as "the work of the people": these resources offer scope for creating worship that is adapted to the particular local context.

The chairman of the Liturgical Commission, the Bishop of Salisbury, Dr David Stancliffe, has said: "All words sound churchy to unchurched people. Actions speak louder than words." There are plenty of opportunities for using symbols, actions, and movement to help bring life to the words. One of the criticisms of Common Worship has been "too many words". There are still a great many, but care has been taken to recognise that our culture is much more visual, and takes rites of passage seriously.

Some of the best material is in the introduction and commentary, distilled from the 1995 report On the Way: Towards an integrated approach to Christian initiation. There are helpful ideas about how to use the texts, and about the way symbol, movement, and drama work in worship.

RITES of initiation have often seemed to make people jump through hoops or put them through a liturgical passing-out parade. But these new texts reflect a high doctrine of prevenient grace: there is always a way back to God.

Some of the most significant texts are the set of services of Reconciliation and Restoration. For the first time since the Reformation, we have had new rites for the reconciliation of a penitent (confession), in addition to a corporate service of penitence.

This corporate service can also be used by a parish as part of a Church’s response to local, national, or international events that call for penitence, or before events such as a mission or pilgrimage.

In 1983, these rites were placed within the then new healing liturgies; but they belong with the Rites of Initiation. Reconciliation is our being restored to all that God intended for us in our baptism.

The influence of the late liturgist Michael Vasey can be detected throughout. He initiated this work, and is acknowledged in the book — a reminder that our Christian journeys continue far beyond the words and actions of this world into the joy of the next.

The Revd Tim Sledge is Mission Enabler for the Peterborough diocese, and co-author of Youth Emmaus (Church House Publishing, 2003).

Common Worship: Christian Initiation is published by Church House Publishing at £25 (CT Bookshop £22.50); 0-7151-2102-2).

To place an order for this book, email details to CT Bookshop